


The Markings

by foossoaffoof



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, everyone makes an appearance - Freeform, holy shit there are a lot of people in this, magic au!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-22 17:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foossoaffoof/pseuds/foossoaffoof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to Milestone Park, where orphaned children with magical abilities live and learn. Eren is a teenage boy who recently got marked by another human. Being marked means that someone has given you a specific task to carry out. Will Eren find out who it was that marked him and why? What will he do when he finds out about a terrible past?</p><p>*There are usually four types of magical beings: Fighters, Healers, Strategists, and Seekers. Fighters have different types of powers they use during battle, such as flight or invisibility.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> FYI Levi won't appear until later, the first few chapters are about Eren and crew.  
> New idea, hope this works...

A scream pierced through the night, slicing through the sheer peace blanket that had settled over Milestone Park, orphanage and school for magical beings. Lights flicked on and footsteps echoed in the hall, running towards the source of the scream.

The headmaster and professors entered the room of one magical being in particular, Eren Jaeger, whose scream had been recently silenced, by him groaning in pain.

“What’s the matter?”

“What happened?”

“Eren, are you okay?”

“It hurts,” Eren groaned.

“What does?” Erwin, the headmaster asked.

“My back!” Eren gasped. One of the professors, a healer, pulled back the blankets only to notice the sheets soaked in blood. They turned Eren on his stomach, inspecting his back with wide eyes and frightened faces.

“Eren, you’re not going to like this,” Erwin said. “You’ve been marked.”

“Fucking goddammit,” Eren growled, fisting his hands in the sheets as the healer placed the palms of her hands on his back, healing the fresh wounds of the mark.

\--

“Dude, what happened?” Armin asked, playfully punching Eren’s arm as he sat down at the desk next to his.

“I got marked by someone,” Eren said.

“What?” Armin’s eyes widened. “Bro, you need to get it checked out!”

“I know,” Eren slightly shook his head. “Rico’s out of state right now. Erwin called her last night and she’s literally on her way right now.”

“Let me see it!” Armin tugged on Eren’s shoulder. Eren sighed and rolled his eyes, turning and lifting his shirt so Armin could see his whole back. The mark took up the whole back, consisting of a white wing overlapping with a blue wing. “Dude.”

“Yeah, it hurt like shit,” Eren said, tugging his shirt back down.

“Jaeger!” Jean walked into the classroom, sitting down backwards in the chair in front of Eren. “Heard you scream like a girl last night!”

“You’d scream like a girl if you’d felt it,” Eren mumbled, tousling Jean’s messy mohawk.

“Although usually people only feel a pinprick when getting marked,” Armin said, resting his elbows on the table. “Yours must have been done by someone who wasn’t magical.”

“Well then,” Jean raised a brow. “They must seriously know their stuff.”

“Why me,” Eren rubbed a hand over his face. “What did I do?”

“It’s not something you did, it’s something you have to do,” a female voice said. Eren felt a hand on his back. He jerked, twisting around to find Sasha with her hand outstretched. “Oh, sorry! I heard you got marked and I wanted to see!”

“Wait--you said it’s something Eren has to do?” Armin asked. “What is it?”

“I dunno,” Sasha shrugged. “That’s all I got. I’m not a professional like Rico yet.”

“Well, looks like you’ll be waiting till she gets here anyway,” Jean smirked.

“Wait, lemme see the mark,” Sasha said. “It might trigger something.” Eren sighed and lifted his shirt. “Wings of Freedom…”

“Wings of Freedom?” Jean asked. “What the fuck is that?”

“I don’t know,” Sasha furrowed her brow. “Ugh, I wish I was fully trained already. I think it has something to do with the past.”

“Ooh! Is that Eren’s mark!” Connie sauntered over to the small group. “Lemme see.” he placed a hand on the mark. “Alright, so...all I’ve got is probably what you’ve already heard.”

“You need to hurry up and get trained already,” Eren said.

“Yeah yeah,” Connie rolled his eyes. “Rico was gone, dude. What’d you expect us to do.”

“Well now she’s coming back,” Armin said.

“Fuckin’ finally!” Connie exclaimed. He took a seat behind Armin next to Sasha. “Does she even know that she left us at a grade four seeker training?! We’re like, the most behind out of all of us.”

“I’m just surprised that she actually is coming back,” Sasha said. “If her ‘business’ took nine years, you would have thought it’d take longer for her to come back.”

“Well, at least she is coming back,” Eren mumbled, running a hand through his short brown hair.

“True,” Armin nodded.

“Alright, class! In your seats!” Shadis called, clapping his hands to gain his students’ attention.

“Jaeger,” Jean whispered. “Soccer, after school, you game?”

“Of course, bro!” Eren playfully smacked Jean on the chest as he turned around in his seat.

“We’ve got a new student today, guys,” Shadis said, gesturing to a freckled teen who nervously stood in front of the class of ten students. “Please welcome him.”

“Hey, I’m Marco Bodt,” he said.

“Cool,” Connie smiled, waving.

“He’s cute,” Eren said, making Marco blush bright red.

“I agree,” Jean nodded. “The freckles add to the cuteness factor.”

“You guys are too gay,” Armin rolled his eyes at them.

“Can’t help it,” Eren pouted, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Jean. “Girls have cooties.”

“Hey!” Ymir stood from the other side of the classroom. “I take offense at that.”

“Well you’re a girl,” Jean shrugged. “You’re allowed to like girls.” He lifted an arm to cup the back of Eren’s neck and card his fingers through the short, soft brown locks. Ymir huffed and sat down.

“Alright, anyway,” Shadis said. “Sit anywhere and we’ll go around saying our names and positions.”

“Top!” Jean smirked.

“I thought I was the top!” Eren pouted.

“Oh my god,” Armin groaned. “Excuse the gay idiots. I’m Armin and I’m a strategist.”

“I’m also a strategist!” Marco exclaimed, with a bright smile on his face.

“Dude, finally! I’m not the only one anymore!” Armin smiled.

“I’m Ymir, and I’m a healer and partial seeker,” the brunette woman said.

“I’m Historia, and I’m a healer!” the small blonde said.

“Annie, fighter,” another blonde woman said.

“Also tell what your power is if you’re a fighter,” Shadis said.

“Teleportation,” Annie said.

“I’m Reiner, fighter, strength!” the blonde man flexed, showing off his large, muscular arms.

“My name is Bertholt and I’m a fighter,” the brunette nervously said. “My power is animals.”

“Connie is my name and seeker is my game!”

“I was going to say that!” Sasha exclaimed.

“Oh, sorry,” Connie said.

“I’m Sasha, also a seeker,” the redhead said.

“Jean, fighter, illusions.”

“Eren, fighter, elements.”

“And I’m Commander Shadis, fighter, and flight.”

“What?!” Sasha exclaimed. “I didn’t know you could fly!”

“Yes, I can,” Shadis nodded. “I just don’t do it often.”

“Even I’ve seen him fly, Sash,” Eren said over his shoulder, arms still wrapped around Jean’s neck.

“Anyway,” Shadis rolled his eyes. “Let’s get back to our lesson.”

“Ugh,” Reiner groaned. “Stupid math.”

“Math isn’t stupid,” Jean said. “You are.”

“Ooh, burn,” Connie chuckled.

“Shots fired!” Armin smirked. Shadis rapped a ruler on his desk.

“Open your books,” he said. “Marco, you can share with Armin.”

\--

“Soccer time! What what?!” Jean exclaimed, bursting out of the classroom. A couple hoots confirmed the teens’ excitement as the guys ran down to the backyard fields.

“Powers or nah?” Reiner asked.

“Nah,” Eren said. “Hey Marco! Wanna play?”

“Uh...I don’t know how,” Marco said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s ok, how about you sit on the side and watch till you get it?” Armin patted the taller teen on the shoulder. Marco nodded as he sat down in the green grass.

“I’m playing too!” Ymir burst into the yard.

“What are the teams?” Connie asked.

“Kirschtein versus Jaeger,” Reiner replied.

“Alright,” Jean said. “I want Reiner on my team.”

“I choose Bertholt,” Eren smiled.

“Connie.”

“Get over here Ymir,” Eren teased, gesturing to the taller woman.

“YOU GUYS ARE PLAYING SOCCER?!” Sasha screeched from the side.

“Sash, explain the rules to Marco,” Jean said. “You can join when he does, cuz we’ll have equal teams.”

“Fine,” Sasha grumbled, plopping down next to Marco. “Ok, so soccer…”

“LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!” Connie exclaimed, smirking at the other team.

“Wait for us!” Historia called, dragging Annie behind her. “We wanna play too!”

“I call dibs on Annie!” Eren exclaimed.

“Oh come on!” Jean groaned.

Eren smirked as he looked over at his team, Bertholt, Annie, and Ymir. They could totally win, no problem.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the long wait...college is being stupidly busy right now  
> plus dealing with writers block  
> anyway....here you go

“You cheated!” Eren huffed, pouting as the teens trooped inside Milestone.

“How did I cheat?” Jean asked, throwing his hands in the air. “I even took Marco, the less experienced one, no offense, bro.”

“None taken,” Marco waved a hand.

“I don’t know how you did it, but somehow you did,” Eren wagged a finger at him.

“Eren, calm down,” Armin said. “I was watching the whole game, no one cheated.”

“Wait-Armin,” Marco fell into step beside the shorter blonde. “How come you didn’t play?”

“Armin busted his ankle last year,” Connie answered for him. “Erwin ordered him to take it easy.”

“Still in physical therapy,” Armin pouted. “It sucks.”

“I see,” Marco said. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok,” Armin shrugged. “It was in the past.”

“Dinner!”

“Fuckin’ finally,” Reiner growled. “I’m starving!”

“You’re always starving,” Eren teased, jumping up to race the teens into the dining room. They sat in their usual seats around the “big-kid” table, making room for Marco.

Suddenly, the door burst open, making everyone in the dining room jump.

“Jaeger!” came a bossy bark.

“Hey,” Eren let out a wimpy cheer. “Rico’s back!”

“Where is he?!” the silver haired woman appeared in the dining room, arms full of bags and important papers.

“Calm down and eat before you pass out,” Erwin gently pushed Rico to the “teacher” table and she sat down in an empty seat.

“Fine,” Rico mumbled. “But right after, it’s me and Jaeger. I’ve got important stuff to do!”

“She seems bossy,” Marco whispered to Armin. The blonde nodded.

“She is,” Armin whispered back.

“I’m in for a load of fun tonight,” Eren said sarcastically, earning a look from Rico across the room. Chuckles around the room lightened the heavy atmosphere Rico seemed to have dragged in with all her baggage. Eren and Jean exchanged glances.

‘You alright?’ Jean raised an eyebrow.

‘Yeah, don’t worry,’ Eren nodded once.

“Are they talking without talking?” Marco asked.

“They’re using their gaylepathy,” Connie said. “It’s like telepathy, but for gays.”

“You are full of it, Connie,” Jean rolled his eyes.

“It’s actually more like ‘they’ve known each other the longest and are bestest friends’ kind of telepathy,” Armin said.

“Oh, got it,” Marco nodded.

\--

“Alright, shirt off.”

“Oh? That excited to get me shirtless? And you’ve only been here, like, what, an hour?” Eren teased.

“Just take of the shirt,” Rico sighed. Eren chuckled and stripped his shirt, turning around so the seeker could see the marking.

“Holy fucking cow,” Rico cursed.

“What?” Eren asked, craning his neck so he could look behind him where Rico stood.

“Someone from our past lives is contacting you,” Rico said. “This mark is the Wings of Freedom, a branch of the military.”

“What?” Eren repeated.

“I-I don’t think…” Rico paused, mulling over her thoughts. “No, I won’t. You have to find the person that gave you the marking. Only then will you understand. Fucking Hanji….”

“What’s a Hanji?” Eren asked. “And whoa, what’s this about me finding a person? I have no idea where to even begin.”

“You will finish your training at Milestone before you begin your search,” Rico said, adjusting her thin framed glasses. Eren snatched his shirt and pulled it back on, following the seeker as she quickly exited the room.

“Wait, tell me more!” Eren exclaimed. “Do you know who gave me the marking? And how do I know them?”

“I’ll tell you more later,” Rico said, leaving a confused Eren in the hallway, with his shirt on backwards. He let out an exasperated sound and marched into the teen loft of Milestone, stripping off his shirt as he walked through the doorway.

“Whoa there, Ere-bear,” Jean raised a brow.

“You’re lucky I’m ripped and not fat, Jean,” Eren said, flopping shirtless onto a large, unoccupied, beanbag.

“True,” Jean smirked.

“What’d she say?” Armin asked.

“Something about a past life,” Eren said. “And she refused to say anything else.”

“Nice marking,” Reiner said.

“Ugh, this is so frustrating!” the brunette punched the beanbag. “There are so many questions!”

“What do markings mean?” Marco asked.

“Being marked by someone mean that you have to do a task for them,” Armin explained.

“So now Eren has to find the person that marked him and do something for them?” Marco raised a brow. “You know, if a person really wanted, they could makes slaves out of people that way.”

“Exactly,” Jean said. “They were supposed to ban markings like, a hundred years ago, but kept them around because of ‘tradition’ or something.”

“Well, whenever I meet this person, I’m going to beat them up,” Eren decided, voice muffled by the beanbag.

“AH! For god’s sake, Eren, put a shirt on!” Ymir screeched, as she entered the loft. She tossed a pillow on his back and snickered at the glare she received.

\--

“Psst, Jaeger, power tag after classes?”

Eren nodded at Jean, confirming his answer.

“We’ve still gotta beat Reiner’s ass,” Jean whispered. “Don’t forget.”

“Kirschtein! Wanna share with the class?” Pixis asked, turning around to face the students after writing on the chalkboard.

“I was just saying that during power tag I’m going to kick Reiner’s ass,” Jean turned in his seat to face the blonde.

“In your dreams, Kirschtein!” Reiner exclaimed.

“Hey, we’re the gay community reps here at Milestone, you mess with one of us, you mess with both of us,” Jean said, slinging an arm around Eren’s neck.

“You are so on!” the blonde smirked.

“Are you guys done?” Pixis asked.

“Yes sir,” Jean mock saluted.

“Alright, back to your books, soldiers!” the man commanded.

Eren turned back to his book, trying to concentrate. He felt eyes on him. Someone was watching him. He looked around the classroom, finding everyone’s nose buried in their books. No one in the classroom was watching him, so who was it?

“Eren, are you okay?” Eren turned to find Armin’s worried blue eyes on his. He instantly knew that Armin’s eyes weren’t the one’s watching him earlier.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Eren sighed and focused on his book.

Armin exchanged glances with Jean, who shrugged and went back to the lesson. Armin glanced once more at his friend.

By the end of the day, the strange feeling left Eren. He found he was able to focus again. Jean caught up to the brunette as he exited the classroom to put his books away.

“Hey, you still up for power tag?” Jean asked.

“Yeah,” Eren said, looking up. “I just-felt like someone was watching me the whole time.”

“All day?” the taller teen asked.

“Yeah, and it just suddenly stopped,” Eren said.

Suddenly, Sasha, Connie, and Ymir brushed past them, running down the hall.

“Guys, where are you going?” Jean called.

“Something happened to Rico!” Connie exclaimed. Eren and Jean exchanged looks before dashing after the seekers.

Bursting into the room, the teenagers stopped, mid-step when they saw Rico huddled on the ground.

“Rico,” Eren knelt before the woman. “What happened?”

“They’ve come back,” Rico said, hiding her face into her knees. “They’ve come back.”

“Who has come back?” Connie asked.

“The Titans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seekers know about their past lives, Rico didn't have the correct training soon enough so she's been a little traumatized from an early age.  
> also, tell me how im doing and what kind of ideas you have! It will be extremely helpful! :)  
> tumblr: foossoaffoof


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty! this week has been a little better, got more writing done, so that's good.  
> im so glad that after this week is my spring break! whohoooooooo  
> gonna get a whole lot more writing done! yeee boyyy  
> anyway, enjoy....

“Rico,” Connie said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “who are the Titans?”

“They’re monsters,” Rico said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “They’ve come to eat us.”

“Hold on,” Sasha said, she placed her forehead to Rico’s. After a moment, she threw herself back, gasping. “Oh god.”

“What?!” Connie and Ymir asked.

“I...I know…” Sasha covered her quivering mouth with her hand. “I remember.”

“Remember what?” Jean asked.

“Our past lives.”

Jean, Connie, Eren, and Ymir took a step back, exchanging glances.

“Oh boy,” Connie said.

“What happened?” Erwin burst into the room.

“Rico’s having a breakdown,” Eren said. “And Sasha says she remembers our past lives.”

“What?”

“That’s correct sir,” Sasha said, quickly wiping her tears. Connie extended a hand to help her stand. “I remember everything now, sir.”

“Why are you calling him ‘sir’?” Ymir asked.

“Sorry! It was natural, sir,” Sasha squeaked, covering her mouth. “In our past lives, Erwin was a commander of our part of the army. We all called him ‘sir’.”

“Army?” Erwin asked.

“You’d better explain everything,” Rico sniffed. Sasha nodded.

“Sir, we need to talk,” Sasha said. “It would be better if all the professors were present for this.”

“Very well,” the tall blonde nodded. “But for now, get back to your game. If I recall correctly, Jean and Eren need to kick Reiner’s ass.” Jean and Eren exchanged looks, then smirked.

The talk could wait.

\--

“Drink this,” a bespectacled redheaded woman handed a beaker full of blue liquid to a young teenage boy.

“What is it?” the boy asked.

“Just drink it,” the woman said, picking up a pad of paper and a pencil. “Then tell me what you feel.”

“Well, right now I feel like throwing you out the window,” the teen growled.

“Levi, just drink it!” the redhead exclaimed. The teenager called Levi glared at her before chugging the strange blue liquid.

“What’s it supposed to do?” Levi asked. The woman smirked. “Hanji, for the love of….”

“Oh?” Hanji smiled and kicked Levi in the shin.

“Holy….” he trailed off, not knowing why and clutched his leg.

“Ohoho,” the woman cackled. “It worked.”

“What the…what is that?” Levi glared.

“It’s a no-swearing potion,” Hanji said. “And it worked!”

“Why in the actual...why would you make a no-swearing potion?”

“Do you feel weird?”

“I...feel like a part of me is gone,” Levi’s eyes widened.

“Well, it should wear off in a couple hours,” Hanji said. “You’ll go back to your usual self in no time.”

“No, but, I don’t even know what to do anymore,” Levi gripped the hem of his black t-shirt.

“Hey, just remember your ultimate objective,” the woman said, picking up a picture and handing it to Levi across the lab table. Levi took the picture and looked at the young man who’d looked up just in time for the picture to be taken, wide eyes, full of mystery and hurt and secret darkness. He had near flawless skin, and soft, fluffy brown locks falling into his eyes.

“Eren,” Levi smiled.

“I was able to find a general location,” Hanji said, turning back to her computer monitors. She pulled up a map of England.

“England?” Levi asked, holding Eren’s picture close to his chest.

“The mark I was able to put on him led me to this,” the redhead motioned to the whole country. “There’s something about the place he’s in that must be scrambling the signal.”

“Magic can have a signal?”

“Oh yeah,” Hanji nodded fervently. “Definitely.”

There you guys are!” a teenage girl walked into the science lab. “What do you want for dinner?”

“What?”

“Levi, it’s nearly five thirty pm,” his sister said, placing a hand on her hip. “I’m going to call for takeout since a certain redhead hasn’t cooked anything since last week.”

“Sorry!” Hanji pouted. “I’ve been busy.”

“You at least found a location, right?”

“He’s in England,” Levi said. “Maybe the others are there too.” Mikasa smiled and pulled out her phone.

“Food?”

“Chinese!” Hanji exclaimed.

“Uh, no,” Levi said. “Order pizza.” Mikasa nodded and walked away. Levi turned back to the map and studied it. “Is there anywhere he could possibly be?”

“Not that I know of,” Hanji said. “He could be anywhere. The best bet is to find someone actually magical, or go to England ourselves and try again.”

“Well,” Levi said.

“We are not going to England until after your and Mikasa’s graduation,” Hanji said firmly.

“We’re juniors.”

“Exactly,” Hanji smiled. “So don’t count on it for a while.” Levi groaned and let his head fall to the desk.

“Why did you even adopt us?”

“Because I couldn’t let my favorite, adorable, and grumpy corporal grow up alone?” Hanji smiled.

“Nice try,” Levi rolled his eyes. He set the picture of Eren back on the desk and made his way out of the science lab. “But I’ll never be alone.”

\--

“Pizza!” Jean called, holding seven boxes of freshly baked pies as he walked into the teen loft.

“Finally!” Sasha exclaimed. She made grabby hands at Jean, who handed her the top box.

“So hungry!” Reiner took a box and almost drooled when he opened the lid.

“Alright,” Eren smiled, helping clear a space for Jean to put the remainder of the boxes. “Food time!”

“So every Friday night they close the kitchen?” Marco took a cheesy slice.

“Have you seriously not noticed?” Reiner asked. “You’ve been here for two months.”

“Yeah, but…” Marco shrugged. “No one told me the reason we were going out was because they closed the kitchen.”

“True,” Armin nodded.

“So what do the little kids do?” the freckled teen asked.

“The profs take turns taking them to different places,” Eren said. “Then the rest of ‘em go to fancy restaurants.” Marco nodded his head, pulling his slice away, elongating the stand of cheese that connected his mouth to the pizza.

“So what movie?” Connie asked.

“Avengers.”

“Thor.”

“Spiderman.”

“No, no, no,” Jean shook his head, holding up a hand. “We need to watch The Lion King.”

“Seriously?”

“It’s a classic,” Marco agreed.

“I’m up for it,” Sasha shrugged.

“Why not?” Annie said, elbowing Bert and Reiner in their sides.

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

“Alrighty!” Connie smiled, pulling out the worn disc. “Lion King it is, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> questions? comments? feel free to ask!  
> scream at me if you have to...but i sincerely hope not ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey~  
> i decided to update early for you guys since i might not get around to it next week   
> (its my spring break and i'm super excited!!)  
> although i do plan to write a LOT, im already like, six chapters ahead of this one, so don't be surprised if i come back with this whole fic finished...  
> although, then again, watch me do nothing on this fic the whole time  
> literally, it could go either way with me,  
> any, enough rambling, ENJOY

“Wait, so, what are the titans again?” Erwin asked.

“They are monsters, made out of humans,” Sasha sighed, easily slipping into monotonous recitation. “We can kill them by slicing the nape of the neck, cutting off any brain signals they may have from the rest of the body. It is also the only area that hinders their regeneration.”

“And you say that in our past lives, Eren, Ymir, Reiner, Bertholt, and Annie all used to be titans?” Erwin asked. Sasha nodded. 

“They were able to gain an ability to shift into titans. We used that knowledge to decimate the titans.”

“This is a lot of heavy duty information,” Mike said. He placed his hands on the table and stood. “You may go join your friends, Sasha. We need to talk privately.”

“Okay,” Sasha said. “If I remember anything important I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you,” Erwin nodded.

After the slim seeker had left the room, Erwin turned to Rico, who’d been staring into her lap the entire time.

“You knew this?”

“I did.”

“Why did you not say anything?” Pixis asked.

“I wasn’t ready,” Rico said. “And those kids are definitely not ready.”

“What are you saying?” Erwin asked.

“All seekers remember the past,” Rico said. “We were all in the military, even all those kids, every single one. We did horrible things and have had traumatizing pasts. They didn’t need to grow up with those burdens weighing them down.”

“Eren’s mark?” Shadis asked.

“He was marked by Hanji Zoe,” Rico said. “She was one of us, but did not gain magical abilities in this life. She must be looking for us.”

“And the titans?” Erwin raised a thick brow.

“They’re here.”

\--

“Titans?” Eren raised a brow.

“Rico’s batshit crazy man,” Connie said. “Don’t believe anything she says.”

“Are you sure?” Marco asked.

“Hey, if Sash says we destroyed all the titans, then I believe her,” Connie said.

“This is all so confusing,” Eren pouted. “Sasha says we killed them all. Rico says they’ve come back. Who do we believe?”

“Technically, it could be possible if someone found a way to recreate them,” Marco said.

“Great, so now someone is recreating the very monsters that killed millions of people,” Connie sighed. “Now what?”

Suddenly a loud scream echoed through the halls.

“You had to ask,” Eren glanced at the seeker.

“That sounds like Armin,” Marco observed. Eren and Connie froze before jumping up and running down the hall, Marco close on their heels.

“Armin!” Eren exclaimed, finding the blonde in a heap on the ground, blood pooling from his arm.

“What happened?” Erwin asked, making his way through the crowd.

“I’ve been marked,” Armin said, staring at his arm. The same mark as Eren’s wrapped around his shoulder and bicep.

“It’s the same as mine,” Eren said. Armin’s eyes widened as he met Eren’s gaze. Sasha froze, eyes darting between the two.

“Hanji is trying to strengthen the magical signal,” she said. “She’s trying to find us.”

“How many more of us will have to get marked?” Erwin asked. Sasha shrugged.

“Milestone has a cloaking system, right?” Sasha asked. “She’ll mark as many people that it takes to overpower the cloaking system.” Erwin sighed and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair.

“This is…” he trailed off.

“Sir?” Sasha asked.

“We might have to lead her directly here,” Armin said. “We might have to disable the cloaking system.” Erwin glared at Armin for reading his mind. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Erwin said, holding out a hand to help the small blonde stand.

“Do what you need to, sir,” Sasha said. “If anything comes after us, I’m sure our fighters will be able to handle it. It’s what they’re trained for.” Erwin was silent for another few minutes.

“Get back to your activities, stay inside,” he finally said. “Bring all the little ones inside as well. I will talk with all the professors about this issue.”

\--

“You what?!” Levi exclaimed.

“You heard me,” Hanji said. “The signal we were receiving from Eren was too weak. I made an educated guess that Armin would be in the same vicinity, so I marked him too.”

“Hanji-”

“I was right, though,” Hanji said.

“You are crazy,” Mikasa said.

“Maybe, but look at this,” Hanji smiled, bouncing in her seat. She pointed to the screen, showing a map of the English states. “I’ve narrowed it down to a couple counties.”

“So marking Armin made the magical signal stronger.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” the redhead exclaimed.

“But how did you even mark Armin if you don’t have anything of him?” Mikasa asked.

“I found this!” Hanji pulled out a small blue pendant. On the back, engraved in the metal, it read ‘ARLERT’.

“He became Commander of the Military Police?” Levi and Mikasa exchanged glances, smiling in awe.

“Who knew the little string bean could do it?” Levi said, reaching out to take the pendant.

“I did,” Mikasa said.

“Well you don’t count,” Levi said. “You thought Eren was going to be your husband.”

“Just because I was wrong about one thing doesn’t mean I was wrong about everything,” Mikasa sassed.

“Sure,” Levi nodded. Mikasa glared at him as Hanji chuckled.

“You two have homework to do,” she said. “Why don't you go ahead and get started, I'll tell you if I find anything.”

“Wow, Hanji’s actually being a good parental figure,” Levi teased.

“Just do your homework!” Hanji pouted.

“Yes, mother,” Levi smirked, trailing behind his sister out of the science lab.

Hanji sighed and turned back to her work, focusing on on the regions. There had to be something here out of place, anything where Eren and Armin could be.

\--

“What should we do?” Mike asked, eyeing Erwin and Rico.

“Hanji wants to find us for some reason,” Rico said. “Maybe she has something to tell us about the Titans.”

“It's possible,” Erwin said. “Whatever the reason, we can't risk the childrens’ safety. It's the exact reason why we have a cloaking system in the first place.”

“I think we should let the woman find us,” Shadis said. “She wouldn't have marked another one of us if she wasn't serious.”

“I agree,” Pixis said.

“Nifa?” Erwin asked. The brunette healer nodded.

“I think we should let her find us,” Nifa nodded, agreeing with the two fighters. “But, I have an idea. What if we only dropped our cloak during certain times of the week. That way, it's not down all the time, and when it is down, we can patrol the estate.”

“Very well,” Erwin said. “We will drop the cloak every Sunday. Pixis and Shadis, you will need to work quickly to train the fighters. They can help with patrol.”

Pixis and Shadis nodded before leaving to find the teens.

“Rico, you need to begin training the seekers,” Erwin said. “They are untrained and may need it.”

“Yes, sir,” Rico nodded. She stood and walked out the door.

“What about us?” Nifa asked, exchanging glances with Mike.

“Continue teaching your normal classes, and keep tabs on the little ones,” the headmaster said. “Don't let them out of your sight.”

\--

Eren, Jean, Annie, Reiner, and Bertholt stood on the open field behind the mansion.

“Ready?” Shadis asked. The teens nodded their heads.

“Who’d like to go first?” Pixis smiled, rolling his shoulders.

“Me!” Reiner exclaimed, cracking his knuckles. “I’ll go first.” He stepped forwards.

“Eren, the ring, please,” Shadis said, nodding to the elemental fighter. Eren took a step and raised his hands, lifting the earth into a large circle knee height around Reiner and Shadis.

“Alright, since your power is strength, we’ve had you work on multiple different styles of hand to hand combat since you were young,” Pixis said to the brawny blonde. “Use any style or combination against Commander Shadis. If you are able to make him tap out, you’ll pass.”

“No problem,” the blonde smirked.

From the balcony overlooking the backyard, the other teens stood, watching.

“So, how does this exactly work?” Marco asked.

“Since Reiner’s power is strength, he will have a hand to hand fight with Shadis,” Armin said. “If he wins, he passes and becomes a fully trained fighter.”

“Once they’re fully trained fighters, they can help patrol the mansion when the cloaking system is offline,” Sasha said.

“What about the others?” Marco asked, just as Reiner and Shadis began their fight.

“Eren’s specialty is the elements,” Armin said. “For his fight they’ll move to the creek where he can use the water. Annie’s fight will happen in the ring, since teleportation can literally go anywhere. Bertholt’s fight will happen in the ring as well, but they’ll make it bigger so he has more space to run.”

“What’s his power again?” Marco asked. Sasha had returned from the kitchen with homemade cookies, handing one to each teen.

“He can shapeshift into any animal,” Armin said.

“What about Jean?” the freckled teen peered down at the teen with the sand colored mohawk. Armin smirked.

“He’s already won his fight,” the blonde said.

Jean smirked, crossing his arms. He glanced back towards Armin. Marco jumped.

“Did he hear everything?” he asked.

“Every word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohoho  
> cackles at computer screen  
> causally hints that Jean may be more than he seems, its chill...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOO....  
> it turned out that i had no wifi over my spring break  
> which means  
> no writing....sorry guys  
> here's chap 5, get ready for a FRESH persepective

“Levi…” Mikasa shook the sleeping teen’s shoulder. “Levi, wake up!”

“Uh, wha…” Levi groggily opened his eyes.

“Good morning,” the ravenette rolled her eyes.

“What?” the raven furrowed his brows, squinting at the light.

“It’s morning, seven-o-two to be exact,” Mikasa said. “We have school, today’s Monday.”

“Ugh,” Levi buried his face in the pillow.

“Fine, maybe I’ll eat all the breakfast myself,” the female twin smirked, crossing her arms as she made her way to the door. “It’s really good too, Hanji decided to make cinnamon rolls!”

Levi scrambled out of bed and dashed out of the room, almost knocking Mikasa down on the way. She squeaked as she regained her balance.

The male twin laughed as he slid down the banister on his socked feet, jumped off the edge in a front flip, and landed neatly at the foot of the stairs in a crouched position.

“I win,” he said, smirking back up the staircase as Mikasa made her way down the stairs.

“Well that’s because I chose to use the stairs like a normal human being,” she sassed. “Unlike a certain shorter, older brother of mine.” Levi nearly growled as he glared at his younger twin.

“Shorter by two centimeters,” Levi said, following her into the kitchen. “Two fucking centimeters, and you know it. And don’t you worry, my growth spurt is coming, I can feel it. I refuse to be the same height as I was last time.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes and sat down in her chair.

“Good morning, folks!” Hanji smiled, pulling her creation out of the oven.

“Morning!” the female twin smiled.

“Mornin’,” Levi drawled, taking his seat. “Cinnamon rolls?”

“Yup!” the redhead chirped. “I decided to finally make something good for you guys, since I haven’t all week and I feel terrible about it.”

“Eh, at least you narrowed down the possibilities,” he shrugged.

“Eat up!” the scientist placed the freshly baked cinnamon rolls on the table.

“Oh, Levi, I forgot to tell you,” Mikasa said, “we have PE today.”

“Fucking PE,” Levi groaned. “I still haven’t washed my gym uniform.”

“Ew, gross,” his sister complained.

“Can I borrow one of yours?”

“Ew, no!”

“Well that’s a shame,” Levi said, taking a bite out of his gooey, sweet roll. “I’d hate to be an embarrassment to you...or your friends.” Mikasa froze, eyes darting up to meet her brother’s steel blue gaze. “Especially to Chris.” Mikasa’s cheeks turned pink.

“Ooh, who’s Chris?” Hanji smirked, turning to Mikasa with wide, teasing eyes.

“He’s..a, uh...a boy,” Mikasa stammered.

“A boy who she likes,” Levi finished, smirked at his younger twin. Mikasa glared at her brother. “So, about that uniform?”

“Yes, sure, I’ll lend you one,” Mikasa said, still glaring at Levi.

“Perfect!” Levi said. He shoved the rest of his cinnamon roll in his mouth and grabbed another one.

“Calm down there, tiger,” Hanji said. “You can barely close your mouth around the one you have now.” Levi chewed and swallowed, taking his time.

“Better?”

“Much,” Hanji chuckled, taking a napkin and wiping his mouth.

“God, you’re such a baby!” Mikasa groaned.

“I’m not a baby, I just always get what I want,” Levi smirked, stuffing his second roll into his mouth.

“Gross.”

Levi stood and made his way back upstairs, skipping two at a time.

“You’d better take a shower if you’re borrowing my uniform!” Mikasa called after him.

“Fine!” Levi called back, walking directly into the bathroom.

\--

“Hey, Levi!” a short strawberry blonde called.

“Hey Petra,” Levi nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Did you do your Chemistry homework?” Petra asked.

“Of course I did,” Levi said. “Got straight A’s to uphold.”

“Lemme see,” she said, making grabby hands at Levi. The raven pulled a pristine paper out of his backpack and handed it to her.

“If you so much as get it dirty-”

“I know, I know, you’ll castrate my boyfriend and we’ll never be able to have sexual experiences again, I know!” Petra said, looking over the answers. “Boy, you’re lucky to have Hanji as a mom.”

“Why?”

“She’s a Chemist, right?” Petra raised a brow. “Does she ever geek out and go off on random tangents, spewing useful information that you write down and get A’s on?”

“More or less,” Levi shrugged.

“So, you excited?”

“What?” Levi furrowed his brow, trying to remember what he could possibly be excited for.

“Summer,” Petra said. “It’s in less than a month.”

“Oh, right, yes,” he nodded. “Hanji’s making me get a job. I have an interview at Barlow’s Ice Cream store next week.”

“Ice cream?” Petra asked. “Are you sure that’s the best place for you to work?”

“Why not?”

“You’d eat all the ice cream before the customers would get any,” the blonde said, rolling her eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” Levi said. He led the two of them into the school building. “If I get the job, then I can get two scoops for free at the end of my shift.”

“Ooh, that’s nice!” she exclaimed. “Hope you get the job!”

\--

“So now that they’re fully trained fighters, we can begin the patrol rotations,” Shadis said. “We had Mike draw up rotation schedules.”

“We split up the fighters into partners, with us mixed in,” Pixis said. “Eren and Jean will take the first shift after we drop the cloak tomorrow morning.” Erwin nodded.

“Do they know?” he asked.

“They know their responsibilities,” Pixis said, placing a hand on Erwin’s shoulders.

“Right, well,” the blonde said. “It’s getting late. Call it a night and get ready for lockdown.”

“Yes, sir,” the two fighters left the room, preparing the mansion for nighttime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAM  
> Levi you little fucker, we all know you will never be tall...  
> poor bab...  
> (I also decided to make Mikasa a bit shorter, since she has a short twin, gotta make them seem a bit more similar, right? hehe, well....)  
> anyway, thanks for all the kudos and comments  
> if u have a question or comment feel free to ask away  
> I ONLY HAVE FOUR WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT  
> WAHOO BABY


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hallo and welcoome

“Levi!” Hanji exclaimed, bursting into Barlow’s Ice Cream Shop with her arms full of papers and trinkets. “Levi! Where are you?”

“Right here,” Levi said, appearing at her elbow with a wet rag in his hand from wiping tables.

“I found him!” The redhead said, smile on her face and sparkle in her eyes.

“Who?” The raven went back to work, wiping down sticky tables.

“Eren!”

“Where?” Levi raised a brow. Hanji spilled her papers on a nearby table and organized them.

“Ok, so, you know how I don’t normally work on Sundays, right? Anyway, I decided to work today, for some reason. I had a feeling, but that’s not the point,” Hanji said, winded and rushed from running to the ice cream shop.

“Do you even have a point?” Levi asked. Hanji continued, ignoring the teen.

“Apparently, their cloaking device wasn’t on today. I was able to find an accurate location.” She picked up a picture of a large, Victorian style estate.

“This is where he is?” Levi studied the house. It was pretty impressive.

“Yup! But that’s not the best part,” Hanji squealed. “Look at that figure on the roof, who does it look like to you?”

“Hanji, it’s so blurry it could literally be anybody.”

“Okay, then look at this one,” Hanji pulled out a better, more clear photo, this time, the figure on the roof was perfectly clear.

“Jean?”

“Yup!” Hanji jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

“So now what?” Levi asked. “You said we can’t go there until after our graduation.”

“Correction-” Hanji stood up straight. “I said you and Mikasa couldn’t go, I never said I couldn’t go.”

“Fucking-get out of the shop,” Levi began shoving his adoptive mother out of the ice cream shop.

“Not yet, I want a scoop of ice cream!” Hanji smiled, pulling out a five dollar bill.

\--

“When do you think they’ll stop lowering the cloak?” Connie asked.

“Who knows?” Sasha shrugged, chomping down on a potato chip.

“Probably when the fighters get tired of being on watch,” Ymir said.

“Or when they finally run into someone and get action,” Armin said. “After a confrontation, Erwin might keep the cloak in place for a while.”

“Hey, guys!” Eren and Jean walked into the teen loft, where the others had been lounging all morning.

“Hey, how was patrol?” Marco asked.

“Very boring,” Jean said. “Wish we could have played soccer or something.”

“Yeah,” Eren chuckled.

“Wait-guys,” Armin stood abruptly, “it’s May.”

“Yeah, so? My birthday was last week,” Connie raised a brow.

“Birthdays!” Eren and Jean exclaimed.

“We completely forgot about birthdays!” Sasha sank her fingers into her hair.

“Well, to be fair, we did have a rather busy couple of months,” Marco said. “We haven’t had time to do literally anything since, like, right after Armin got marked.”

“Dude, that was in March,” Jean said.

“Marco has a point,” Armin said. “We’ve all been so busy, no one even realized that four of us are of legal age to drive.”

“Oh,” Jean smirked. “Well that’s a good point.”

“Guys!” Reiner burst into the teen loft. “We have visitors! All fighters are required downstairs.” Eren and Jean instantly jumped to their feet.

“What?” Jean asked. “Who?”

“We’re not exactly sure,” the blonde said. Eren and Jean ran out of the loft, following Reiner to the downstairs foyer, where Annie and Bertholt were standing not too far away from Shadis, Pixis, and the Headmaster.

“Erwin?” Eren asked, exchanging glances with the tall blonde.

“The police have decided to visit,” he replied.

“What would you like us to do?” Reiner asked.

“Be ready, anything could happen. Jean, we might need the use of your abilities,” Erwin nodded. Jean smirked and cracked his knuckles.

“Of course,” he said.

When the doorbell rang, Erwin waited a moment before opening the door, greeting the officers with a small smile.

“Good afternoon, can I help you?”

“We have reports of this estate ‘appearing’ every Sunday, starting from late-March,” one of them said. “Would you care to explain?”

“Jean?” Erwin looked back at the teenager. “Care to explain?”

“Gladly,” the illusionist smirked, rolling out his shoulders. He stepped forwards. “Gentlemen, prepare to be amazed…”

\--

Levi glared at his adoptive mother from the doorway to her room as the redhead packed her clothes into a worn yellow suitcase.

“Where is she going?” Mikasa appeared, having just come back from her summer camp.

“England,” Levi answered.

“What?!” The ravenette’s eyes widened as she looked to Hanji for an explanation.

“I’m going to England to visit some old friends,” Hanji said.

“Old friends, huh?” Mikasa glared at Hanji.

Hanji shot a glance at the twins as they stood in the doorway, glaring with those twin glares.

“I’ll only be gone for a month,” the scientist said.

“Yeah, but school starts again in two weeks,” Levi said.

“You can be responsible seniors right?” Their mother said. “We have the internet, a wonderful invention. Make sure to message me if you need anything.” She zipped up her suitcase and set it upright on the ground. Then moved to make sure her backpack was full of the right necessities.

“Sure,” Mikasa said.

The doorbell rang.

“That’s my ride,” Hanji said. “I’ve got to go!” She brushed past the twins, giving them each a peck on the forehead as she disappeared behind the door.

“Now what?” Levi asked, turning to his sister.

“Um...I have no idea,” she replied.

“Wanna watch a movie?”

“Sure, want pizza?”

“Hell yeah!” Levi smirked, racing his sister to the television to bicker about which movie to choose.

“What movie?” Mikasa asked.

“The Lion King!” Levi smiled, holding up the disk.

“How old are you, three?”

“I'm fucking eighteen,” Levi deadpanned.

“Are you sure?”

“We are watching Lion King, no ifs, ands, or buts,” the older twin said.

“Psh,” Mikasa giggled. “You said butts.”

“And how old are you, three?” Levi mocked.

“Ha ha, very funny,” his sister pulled out her phone to call the pizza company. “Just put your stupid movie in already!”

Levi chuckled in victory as he loaded the movie in the player.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and i really couldn't resist adding Lion King in there again...  
> seriously, it's a classic!  
> and not to mention, Levi is kinda a baby, even if he doesn't think so ;)  
> so what'd you guys think?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for a new update!!  
> Thanks for reading, u faithful peeps!

“Ugh…” Jean’s head hit the desk in front of him. “I wish summer didn’t have to end.”

“Hey, just think, it’s our last year!” Reiner said. “After this one, we’re home free!”

“Well, not all of us,” Marco sighed. “I still have at least one more year, even with Armin’s tutoring.”

“You can do it, Marco-man!” Connie cheered.

“Thanks!”

“Fighters!” Shadis walked into the room. Eren, Jean, Bertholt, Reiner, and Annie stood. The professor handed a paper to each fighter.

“What’s this?” Eren asked, flicking his longer, shaggier hair out of his eyes.

“A record log,” Shadis said. “Because we had to hurry to train you, you didn’t have all the required hours of training. This is a time log you fighters will use to keep track of the amount of hours you spend practicing your power.”

“How many hours?” Annie asked.

“Two thousand,” the professor replied.

“What?!” Jean exclaimed.

“Don’t make me double it,” Shadis warned.

“Yes, sir,” Jean straightened.

“You fighters will be practicing during your free time, so don’t put it off till the end of the year. You will not be able to graduate unless you complete all two thousand hours.”

“Yes sir!”

Eren sat back down in his seat, staring at the sheet. And he thought senior year would be easy!

\--

Levi stared at the huge packet of papers that had just been slapped on his desk.

“This year, we’re integrating intercultural studies into the program,” the teacher said. “You and at least one other student will plan a trip to a different county during your spring break.”

Levi and Mikasa exchanged glances.

“All information is in this packet,” the teacher droned. “You will have until spring to plan exactly what you are going to do, where you will be staying, and to raise money for your trip. When you come back you will be doing a presentation of your trip worth one hundred points.”

“Can we go anywhere?” A student raised her hand.

“Anywhere that is reasonable to your parents and that I approve. You have two weeks to plan and write a proposal with your partner about the country you want to visit and why.”  
Levi could not believe his ears. Maybe he could see Eren before he graduated!

“Levi,” Mikasa whispered from beside him. “Think we could go to England? See everyone?” He nodded, not able to find the right words. “We could even see Eren!”

“Eren,” Levi repeated, smiling fondly at the brunette that had captured his heart. “We have to go to England.”

“The only hard part is convincing Hanji,” Mikasa said.

“She’ll say yes if we tell her she can come too,” Levi said.

“Good point,” his twin nodded.

“Hey Levi!” Petra whispered. “Where do you want to go?”

“Japan,” Levi answered.

“Ooh, cool!” The blonde squealed. “Do you mind if I go there too? Maybe we can run into each other!” That’s exactly what Levi did not want.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Levi said. Petra quietly squealed and turned to her boyfriend.

“Let’s go to Japan, okay?”

Levi chuckled, crossing his arms. When he noticed Mikasa shaking her head he rolled his eyes.

“I told ya, I always get what I want,” the raven smirked.

“I never doubted,” came the reply.

\--

“Sasha...SASHA!” The redhead jolted out of her reverie, looking up into the golden auburn eyes of Connie. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Sasha said. “Just...it’s hard being in the now with such strong memories of the past.” Connie took a seat on the bench next to her.

“Do you mind if I hang out with you for a while?”

“Not at all,” Sasha folded her legs close to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. “You can stay as long as you want.”

“Thanks,” Connie smiled, looking away to the wide open fields where the other teens were teaching the small kids how to play soccer. He chuckled when he saw Eren’s small protege kick Jean in the shin, then proceed to watch the teens duel it out. Reiner and Bertholt pulled them apart.

“Looks like fun,” Sasha said.

“Yeah,” Connie chuckled. “It seems like those kids will be quite the fighters when they grow up.”

“No doubt about it,” the redhead smiled slightly, watching as the kids watched as Jean and Eren made up, shaking hands then pulling each other into a hug. “They have good examples to follow.” After a moment of silence, Connie turned to Sasha.

“What’s it like, to remember?”

“It’s difficult at first,” the redhead teen rested her chin on her knees. “You have two realities in your head and it’s your job to make sure you don’t mix them up.”

“Did we know each other in the past life?” Connie asked.

“We were best friends,” Sasha smiled, then giggled at a sudden memory. “I remember once, we snuck into the kitchen at the barracks and stole cookies from the cook’s secret stash.”

Connie chuckled.

“That sounds like something we would do even now,” he said.

“We probably have,” she replied. After another silent moment, she dropped her legs and stood. “Someone’s approaching the house.”

“Who is it?” Connie jumped to his feet, ready to dash back to the house if needed.

“It’s her,” Sasha smiled. “Hanji found us!”

“We should go tell Erwin,” Connie said. “And get all the children inside.” Sasha nodded and the two raced back to the house.

“Eren! Get all the kids inside!” Sasha said.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, grabbing Jean’s elbow to pull him into the conversation.

“Hanji’s coming,” Connie said. Eren nodded and turned to the small group of kids.

“Alright kids, back inside!” He said. “Time for lock up!” The kids raced into the house and hurried up to their kid loft, waiting for check off.

“I’ll make sure they’re all accounted for,” Connie said. “You guys should prepare the mansion.”

“I’ll go tell Erwin,” Sasha said. The fighters nodded and they all made their way inside, separating once they got through the door. The redhead seeker made her way up to Erwin’s office, knocked twice, then entered. “Erwin, she’s coming.”

“Tell all the fighters to prepare the mansion.”

“Already done, sir,” the seeker said.

“I need Armin and Eren,” Erwin stood. “Alert all the professors.”

“Yes, sir!”

\--

Hanji approached the house and studied its amazing architecture.

“Wow,” she breathed. “Beautiful!” She pulled out her small digital camera and snapped a picture. She stuffed it back into her backpack as she walked up to the front door. When she rang the doorbell, the door swung open to reveal a face she hadn’t quite expected.

“Erwin! God fucking dammit,” Hanji squealed, holding out her hand. “Dr. Hanji Zoe, at your service! AND you have both your arms this time!”

“Uh, yeah?” Erwin blinked, looking back at Sasha, who chuckled nervously. “Anyways, why have you marked two of my students?”

“Students? Wait-” Hanji gasped. “This is a school! No way!”

“Let me handle this,” Sasha said, gently shoving Erwin out of the way. “Hanji! Good to see you again! I hope you understand, but I can’t let you in just yet.”

“Oh, no problem,” Hanji said. “I can talk from here.”

“Ok, why did you mark Eren and Armin?” Sasha asked.

“I need them to remember something for a special top secret project I’m working on,” Hanji said. “In our past lives, Armin, Eren, Levi, and I were working on a special serum that would eliminate the titans permanently. We were able to make a formula that worked, and in order for the information not to get destroyed, we all memorized a fourth of the equation. I’ve got my quarter and Levi’s, but not Eren or Armin’s.”

“She’s telling the truth, sir,” Sasha nodded to Erwin.

“You can let her in,” came the reply.

“Thank you,” Hanji said. Sasha held the door open wider, revealing Armin and Eren. “Eren! Armin! You two rascals! It’s good to see you again!”

“I wish we could say the same,” Eren said, flicking his long bangs out of his eyes.

“And you cut your hair, Armin! It looked so cute when it was long!” Hanji turned to the blonde.

“Yeah,” Armin raised a brow and self-consciously ran a hand through his hair, no longer than Eren’s. “Uh, we’re not allowed to have long hair here. It’s a hazard.”

“Speaking of hair,” Erwin raised a brow at the two of them. “You two are due for haircuts. Go tell to the professors that the area is secure and prepare the mansion for the cloaking system.”

“Yes, sir!” The three teenagers ran to do the headmaster’s bidding, leaving him in the foyer with Hanji.

“They are very obedient,” Hanji said.

“Yes, uh, I guess they are,” Erwin said. “Please, follow me to my office.”

“Yes, of course!” The redhead said.

Once in Erwin’s office, they settled in chairs and Hanji began pulling papers out of her backpack.

“So, this formula you speak of,” Erwin started. “It’s supposed to eradicate all the titans?”

“Yes,” Hanji nodded.

“And how do you plan on making Eren and Armin remember their share of the formula?”

“I’ve thought of that,” Hanji said. “When I was in graduate school, I was writing a report on how eating ham affects the atmosphere.”

“Do you have a point?”

“I misplaced my folder containing all my research, so instead of starting over, I concocted a special formula that made me remember where I had placed it!” Hanji continued. She pulled out a small bottle. “It not only helped me remember where I had put my folder, which was in the pantry, in case you were wondering, but it also helped me remember our past lives.”

“And you’re going to give this to Eren and Armin?”

“Yes,” Hanji said. “It will be painful for about a week, but it’s for a good cause, I promise.”

“Are the titans still alive?” Erwin asked.

“Oh yes,” Hanji nodded. “They’ve been spotted in only remote areas of the world and seem to be contained, but we still have no idea who’s recreating them. Which is why I need their parts of the formula as soon as possible.”

“What are the chances of titans coming here?” Erwin asked.

“Very high,” Hanji said. “For some reason they seem to only come after areas that have the most densely population of reincarnated soldiers from our era.”

“Alright,” Erwin sighed. “Give me a day to consider all the possibilities. In the meantime, I want you staying here, where we can keep an eye on you during this process. I’ll send a fighter with you to retrieve your bags.”

“Thank you,” Hanji smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heehee  
> also, if any of you artists want to draw/sketch these guys be my guest, come talk to me on my tumblr about it and ill tell you my ideas for outfits and maybe give you sneak peaks for the next chapter!!  
> also, again, tell me ideas...Im an idea sponge, i soak everything up! In other words, ill be ecstatic to listen to you guys, after all, you are all my little ducklings and i am the mother duck :^ QUACK


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo everybody and welcom to today's update  
> thanks for all u faithful peeps  
> still got a long way to go in this story, so if anyone wants to halp it would be much appreciated  
> enjoy~

“Alright, so, the whole process will take about a week,” Hanji said, preparing two doses of the remembering potion. “Just try to relax and let the memories come naturally.” Eren sighed and exchanged glances with Armin. The two had recently gotten haircuts, and Hanji couldn’t help but squeal in happiness when she saw how attractive they looked.

“Alright, let’s get started!” Hanji said, handing two small cups full of a strange green liquid to the teens.

“It’s weird how it will take a week for us, but it only took seconds for Sasha,” Eren said, downing the liquid.

“She’s a seeker,” Armin said, downing the liquid after Eren. They handed their empty cups back to Hanji and leaned back on the couch. “It’s natural for her to know this kind of stuff.”

“I guess,” Eren shrugged, letting his eyes droop. Armin yawned, head falling onto Eren’s shoulder. Soon, their breathing evened out and Hanji laid a blanket over the them.

“They asleep?” Erwin whispered.

“Yup,” Hanji nodded. “They’ll be able to go to the room you prepared in a few hours.”

“What happens then?”

“They’ll start to remember,” the redhead said.

And the scientist was true to her word. The two teens were monitored for a total of three hours before Eren jolted awake.

“Oh god!” He cursed. Not even a second later, Armin sprang up.

“Holy shit,” he sank a hand in his fresh haircut. The two exchanged glances before immediately groaning in pain.

“We need to take them to that room now,” Hanji said. Erwin nodded and called for Reiner.

When the blonde arrived, he gently picked up both teens in his arms and carried them to the room Erwin and Hanji had prepared. Inside, there were two beds with monitors hooked up. Reiner set Eren down on one and Hanji instantly strapped Eren into the monitor.

“What’s going on?” Eren asked.

“We’re hooking you up to the monitor so later, we can make sure that you’re still alive,” Hanji replied, shuffling over to Armin to hook him up as well.

“What will happen later?” Armin asked.

“You’ll fall into a deep sleep,” the redhead said. “That’s when you’ll be overloaded when memories.”

“Oh boy,” Eren groaned, letting his head hit the pillow.

\--

“How are they?” Erwin asked. It was nearing the end of the week, and Eren and Armin were still asleep.

“They should be waking up any moment,” Hanji said, shuffling around the room.

“And their memories?”

“They should be complete,” the redhead found the paper she’d been looking for and hurried back to her desk. “They should be able to remember everything.”

“Good,” the blonde nodded.

Not even a second later, Eren groaned, lifting a hand up to his temple.

“Good afternoon, Eren,” Hanji skittered over to the side of Eren’s bed.

“Levi, where’s Levi?!” Eren sat up.

“It’s alright, he’s safe,” Hanji said. She nodded to Erwin before checking on Armin. Erwin stepped up to Eren.

“Hey,” Erwin said.

“Commander,” Eren nodded.

“Are you two hungry?” Hanji asked.

“Yes!” Eren jumped off the bed, almost losing his tripping over the blankets that were tangled in his legs.

“Careful, Eren,” Armin said, hopping out of the bed. “We should probably get dressed before we go anywhere though.” Eren looked down, finding himself in his pajama bottoms and a thin white shirt.

“Oh yeah,” he said.

“Alright you two, go get dressed and see if there is anything to eat in the kitchen,” Erwin said, slapping Eren on the back as he shuffled past him in his socked feet.

\--

“He asked for you, you know,” Hanji said.

“He did?” Levi’s eyes widened.

“His first words after he woke up were, and I repeat, ‘Levi, where’s Levi?’,” Hanji nodded. She studied her son’s face through the skype call.

“Can I see him?” The raven asked.

“He’s downstairs eating after just waking up,” Hanji said. “I don’t think I could tear him away from his food even if I wanted to.”

“Oh,” Levi’s shoulders visibly sank.

“I’ll send you a picture though, is that good?” Hanji asked. Levi nodded.

“Make sure he knows it’s for me, okay?” He asked.

“Alright,” the redhead nodded. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? I’ve got to go check on our two patients!”

“Oh my god, you’re not that kind of doctor!” Levi whined.

“Hey Hanji!” Sasha burst into the room. “Ooh it’s Levi! Hey Levi!”

“Hey Sash,” Levi chuckled at her British accent.

“Oh right, Hanji,” the smaller redhead turned to the taller. “Erwin’s looking for you. Says it’s something about an airplane.”

“Oh, yes, my trip back to America,” Hanji nodded. “Tell him I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Okay,” Sasha said. “Bye Levi, see you later! Well-maybe…” After she left Hanji turned back to Levi.

“I’ll get you that picture, alright?” She said. Levi nodded.

“Bye,” he said. Hanji nodded and ended the skype call. She pulled out her camera and made her way downstairs.

“Eren!” Hanji exclaimed. The brunette paused from shoveling food in his mouth to look up at the eccentric redhead. “I have to take a picture of you for Levi!” Eren quickly swallowed.

“Not now!” His eyes widened. “I’m eating!”

“Of course.” Eren nodded and turned back to his food, continuing to shove it down his throat. Hanji opened her camera and snapped a picture of both Armin and Eren anyways. Candids were always good, they’d still make Levi smile fondly. She looked at the picture, taken when Eren was just about to take a bite, fork halfway to his mouth. Armin had just taken a bite, fork in mouth. She chuckled to herself as she left to go find Erwin in his office.

“Yes?” 

“Your airplane tickets,” Erwin handed her a piece of paper. “You’re due to leave next week, right?” Hanji looked at the paper and nodded.

“I’ll get their part of the formula as soon as possible,” Hanji said. “But I’ll need to go back to my lab to complete the serum. My work is there.”

\--

The last day she was in England, Hanji had downloaded all her photos from her camera onto her computer and sent them to Levi. Levi loved going through the pictures, seeing Eren, Armin, the squad, even the house he lived and the little kids playing soccer with the older ones.

He immediately singled out one photo as his favorite. Eren had gotten hold of the camera, pulled Jean in by slinging an arm around his neck and smiled. Both teens were out of breath, face flustered and red from playing outdoors all day with children. Eren’s eyes were crystal and clear, showing the pure emotion to the camera, to Levi.

“Shouldn’t Hanji be here by now?” Mikasa casually commented.

“Yeah,” Levi checked the time. “Her plane should have come in a couple hours ago.”

“I’m going to try calling her.” Levi nodded. He saved the picture of Eren and smiled, staring into Eren’s big, round, loving eyes.

“She’s not answering,” Mikasa said.

“What?” Levi focused on his sister. “What do you mean she’s not answering? Where would she go?”

“Did she even get on the plane?”

“Yeah,” Levi nodded. “She skyped me in the airport and when she left she was just getting on the plane.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Mikasa said. “She never not answers her phone.”

“We can contact Milestone, right?” Levi asked. Mikasa nodded.

“Yeah, Hanji sent me their contact information as soon as she got there,” Mikasa quickly dialed the mansion.

“Hello? Milestone Park,” a groggy voice answered.

“Is Hanji still there?” Mikasa asked.

“Uh, no, she left yesterday,” the voice said. “Who is this?”

“This is Mikasa Ackerman, her adopted daughter,” the raven replied. “We think Hanji’s missing.”

“Missing?” The voice asked. “What do you mean?”

“She hasn’t arrived home,” Mikasa said. “We think she might have been intercepted on her way.”

“Like someone doesn’t want her to make the whole formula!” The voice concluded. “Don’t worry, Mikasa, I’ll get right on it!”

“Thank you!” Relief flooded the teen. If anybody could find a missing Hanji, someone from Milestone sure could. Levi looked at her expectantly after she hung up.

“Well?”

“The person I talked to said they’ll get right on it,” Mikasa said.

“Who was it?”

“Uh, I’m not exactly sure,” Mikasa said.

\--

“Commander!” Eren burst into Erwin’s room, waking the tall blonde.

“Eren? What is it?” Erwin sat up and turned on his lamp.

“Hanji’s missing!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //screams looudly  
> i did not expect this to happen  
> like always, my writing amazes even me  
> see you next week, my ducklings


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guyss, sorry for the unexpected hiatus, i've been traveling and did not have the best wifi connection  
> so  
> anyways, have an update  
> CAUTION may conatain fluff and may give u unexpected tears

Rico hurried down the hall into the room where Hanji had been staying, trying to find any clues. She touched the pillow that had yet to be stripped and washed. The silver haired woman felt it, the connection, the string. The string that connected Rico straight to Hanji.

She smiled, having found what she was looking for. She placed her hand, palm up on the pillow and whispered the magic words. When she was done, Rico nodded and left the room, heading straight for Erwin’s office.

“Did you find her?”

“I was able to do more than that,” Rico smiled. “I marked her.”

\--

Hanji woke up to a slight burning sensation on her wrist. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw a familiar logo. They knew she was missing.

“Well, well,” a teasing voice said. Hanji looked up. “Good morning.” The redhead didn’t say anything. “What? No morning greeting? What a shame.”

Hanji remained silent, studying his features. He wasn’t anyone she recognized from their past lives. Who has he?

“You’re probably wondering what you’re doing here, huh?” The man asked. He kneeled down in front of where Hanji had been chained to the wall. “Well, you know something of great importance. An equation perhaps?” Hanji remained passive, giving the man a bored expression.

He stood and gestured to a pile of the scientist’s belongings, all dug out from her suitcase.

“As you can already tell, we’ve dug through your bags, found nothing. But, that doesn’t mean you don’t have it,” he grinned. “I know you have it.” He reached out and touched her forehead. Hanji flinched and jerked back.

“Oh?” He smiled. “So you do know the equation? Care to share?” Hanji glared at the man. Never, she’d never give the equation to anyone. She didn’t even have the whole thing memorized, only three-fourths. Levi’s fourth was the only one she didn’t memorize, and for this reason exactly.

Even if he could manage to get the equation out of her, he still wouldn’t have the whole thing. Not that Hanji would even care to tell him that much.

“Don’t worry,” he said, making his way out of the dark room, “I’ll be back.”

Hanji sighed and looked at her wrist again.

“Hurry,” she whispered.

\--

-Hanji?

The redhead jerked up, searching the room for the source of the voice. Wait-it sounded familiar.

-Hanji, it’s me-Mike. Don’t speak out loud, I can read your thoughts. I need you to tell me where you are.

-Mike! Thank god! I made it back to America, but as soon as I retrieved my bags, I was kidnapped.

-Alright, we’re strategizing a plan, don’t worry. Do you know who kidnapped you?

-No, I’ve never seen him before. I’ll send you a memory.

-You’re right, I’ve never seen him either. But don’t, worry. We’ll rescue you.

-Please hurry. This man wants the equation, and I have a feeling that he’ll use any means necessary to get it.

-Noted. I’ll contact you again with a plan later.

-Thanks, Mike.

\--

“So now what?” Eren asked.

“Guess we’re taking a trip to America,” Mike said. “I want Erwin, Eren, Jean, Armin, Rico, and Nifa to pack their bags.”

“Should we take another fighter? Or is three enough?” Armin asked.

“Three should be enough, especially with Jean’s illusions,” Mike said. Armin nodded.

“Erwin, can you book the tickets?” The sandy blonde asked. “We’ll need to leave as soon as possible.” The headmaster nodded and turned back to his computer.

“Go pack at least a week’s worth of clothes and necessities,” Erwin said. “And tell Sasha that she’s coming too. Rico needs to stay here for the other seekers.”

“But I’m the one that placed the mark,” the spectacled woman protested.

“And Sasha could easily find it,” Erwin said, glancing at Rico with a stern look.

“Yes, sir,” Rico mumbled.

Soon, Erwin was left alone in his office. He sighed, printing off the tickets. Leave it to Hanji to get kidnapped in the middle of an important crisis.

The team was ready to leave within the hour. Rico drove them to the airport.

“This is exciting! I’ve never been on an airplane before!” Sasha bounced, squealing with joy as her wide eyes took in every detail of the airport.

“Me neither,” Eren said, placing a hand on Sasha’s shoulder to calm her down.

“I don’t think any of us have been on a plane,” Armin said. Heads around the group shook.

“Well, it’ll be an adventure! Off to rescue the poor crazy scientist who was kidnapped by an evil secret man!” Sasha exclaimed. Jean chuckled and shook his head.

“There’s something about this man that I don’t like,” Mike said. “I don’t recognize him, but he seems to know a lot about us and the titans.”

“We should be extra careful around him, then,” Erwin said.

“Wait-I just realized something,” Jean said. “Where are we going to be staying?”

“Hanji adopted two children-twins,” the headmaster said. “I’ve already called the girl and she said we could stay with them.” Eren swiveled his head to gape at the blonde.

“Mikasa and Levi?!” He exclaimed.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Its fate! Eren reunited with his long lost love!” Sasha exclaimed. Eren’s cheeks were dusted with light pink.

“Is this something I should know?” Erwin asked.

“In their past lives, Levi and Eren eventually got married,” Armin exclaimed, he smirked at Eren, who gently shoved him in the shoulder.

“It should be alright, sir,” Eren said. “I won’t be distracted from being able to find Hanji.”

“At least, you won’t be distracted that much,” Jean smirked. “At least not when he’s whispering your name, begging and begging for your-”

“Okay, okay! Jesus, stop, I get the point!” Eren exclaimed, slapping a hand on Jean’s mouth.

“That was something I definitely did not need to picture,” Armin shook his head.

“Hey, guys, it’s time to board the plane,” Mike said.

“Oh thank you, sweet mother of Jesus,” Eren sighed, picking up his backpack and pulling out his passport.

\--

By the time they landed in the American airport, the group of teens and three adults were well rested, having slept on the airplane. They quickly grabbed their bags and headed out to find the twins, who came to pick them up.

“You ready to be reunited with your long lost love?” Sasha asked.

“Why are you calling him that?” Eren asked.

“That’s what he is, isn’t he?”

“I don’t think he’s lost, Sasha,” Eren rolled his eyes.

“No, but he was lost to you,” the redhead argued.

“Who was lost?” Armin asked, appearing at Eren’s elbow.

“Levi!” Sasha exclaimed.

“She thinks he’s my ‘long lost love’,” Eren explained.

“No, I mean Levi!” Sasha forcibly turned Eren around just in time to notice the raven haired teen approach the group with Mikasa.

“Levi,” Eren smiled.

“Eren!” Levi ran straight into Eren’s open arms, burying his nose in Eren’s wide, strong chest. Meanwhile, Mikasa gave hugs to both Armin and Sasha.

“Welcome to America,” Mikasa smiled. “Are you ready to get going?”

“Hold on just a few more minutes, Mikasa, I don’t think Levi’s ready to go anywhere yet,” Eren said, chuckling as he ran his hand affectionately through Levi’s hair.

“While we’re here, Sasha, you think you can trace Hanji from here?” Erwin asked.

“Hold on,” the redhead said, opening her bag to pull out the pillowcase Hanji used. She closed her eyes, trying to find a lock on the woman’s mark.

“You’re going to find Hanji from a pillowcase?” Levi asked, peering over at Sasha from Eren’s chest.

“It was the only thing of her that we had at Milestone,” Armin explained. “Seekers have to use something of hers in order to know where they are.”

“Oh,” Levi replied.

“She was definitely here, but I’m going to need something of hers that she is strongly attached to in order to get a stronger signal,” Sasha said.

“We have plenty of things back at our house,” Mikasa said. “Are you ready to go, Levi?”

“Yeah,” he laced his fingers with Eren’s and followed his sister out to their cars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MUAHAHAHAHA  
> EREN AND LEVI FINALLY REUNITED  
> did u guys enjoy? anything to improve on other than dependency on updates? yell at me and ill listen


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey HEY look at that, an update!   
> Enjoy the action

“Try this,” Mikasa held up Hanji’s lab coat.

“Perfect!” Sasha smiled. She took the coat from Mikasa and closed her eyes.

 

“How many times have we been over this?” a deep, raspy voice asked. “Give us the equation!”

“Never!” Hanji growled, blood was running from her temple and from her nose, dripping from her chin into a puddle on the cold, stone floor. The man snapped his fingers and two large men swung their fists.

 

Sasha gasped and dropped the coat.

“What is it? Did you find her?” Armin asked, placing a hand on Sasha’s elbow to comfort her.

“Uh, yeah, I found her, but, uh,” Sasha placed a finger to Armin’s temple, sharing the scene with the Strategist.

“Oh god,” Armin exclaimed. “We need to move fast.” He moved past Mikasa and sat down at Hanji’s monitors and began typing away.

“What’s going on?” Mikasa asked. “Why do we need to move fast?”

“They’ll kill Hanji just to get that equation,” Sasha said. Mikasa’s eyes widened as she whirled around to see what Armin was doing on her adoptive mother’s equipment.

“Get the others,” the blonde said to Mikasa, “it’s time to plan a rescue mission.”

\--

“This is such a dumb plan,” Jean whispered.

“Shut up, Jean,” Eren rolled his eyes. He peered around the corner before dashing out, Jean followed close to the brunette fighter.

“What? You know it’s true,” the illusionist said. “This has to be the dumbest plan Armin has ever thought of.”

“You’re just jealous he’s a genius,” Eren smirked. Jean narrowed his eyes at the brunette.

“Ouch, man,” he said. “What happened to homo bros forever?” Eren peered around the next corner and held up four fingers. There were four guards. Jean was about to ask Eren if he needed a back up, but the brunette was gone.

Jean rolled his eyes and peered around the corner, watching Eren expertly duck and dodge, bending the air around him to force the guards against the wall. Jean stepped out once the men had slumped to the ground unconscious.

“You done showing off?” Jean asked. Eren huffed, crossing his arms.

“You’re welcome, you douche,” he replied, playfully shoving Jean’s shoulder. Eren leaned over and picked up a gun from one of the guards’ belts. Jean did the same. “Let’s go.”

Another corner. Eren peered around and dashed out, Jean followed. Why was this place like a maze? There were so many corners.

“Hey! What are you two doing here?” a voice asked. They’d been spotted. Jean quickly cocked his gun and shot the guard in the chest.

“Nice hit,” Eren raised a brow.

“Thanks,” Jean smirked.

\--

“They’re almost there,” Armin said, typing away at the computer. He had the security cameras pulled up on one of Hanji’s screens. Eren and Jean had slipped around a corner and slinked down the hall, reaching the final corner until the chamber that held Hanji came into view.

Levi watched as Eren and Jean whispered to each other, pulling out their guns. They dashed out into the hallway, surprising the six guards that stood in front of Hanji’s chamber. He furrowed his brow when Eren shot a man without blinking.

“Erwin, they’re in position,” Armin said through the comms. “Get ready.”

Erwin pulled up outside the exit in a large white van, Sasha and Nifa in the backseat, ready to receive Hanji.

Levi’s eyes flicked back up to the screen where Eren and Jean were busy knocking out the endless supply of guards that kept pouring around the corner. Suddenly, he watched Eren pulled Jean behind him and he smashed his fists on the ground, turning the cold stone to hot, fiery lava, instantly burning and killing all twenty or so guards.

Jean smiled and patted Eren on the shoulder. Eren stood up and held out his hands, twisting them slowly downwards, cooling off the lava so they could continue safely.

“Who knew Eren was so badass,” Mikasa commented. Levi glared at her. “What? I’m just stating facts.” Armin rolled his eyes at the twins and continued watching the camera feeds. Eren and Jean had reached Hanji. Eren bent the metal cuffs off of Hanji’s wrists and picked her up while Jean led them out.

“Hanji is en route,” came Jean’s voice over the comms. Levi and Mikasa exchanged glances.

Armin took a deep breath and leaned back into his seat.

“Wait-who’s that?” Mikasa asked, pointing to a man approaching Jean and Eren’s position. Armin sat up straight and narrowed his eyes.

“Oh shit, Jean, Eren, he’s coming,” Armin said over the comms.

Eren and Jean exchanged glances.

\--

“Well well well,” a voice said. Eren set Hanji on the floor against the wall. “Look at what we have here.”

“What do you want?” Jean asked.

“He wants Hanji, you dork,” Eren rolled his eyes. “But that’s too bad, cuz that’s not going to happen.” He smirked.

“We’ll see about that,” the man chuckled.

“Jean,” Eren said, placing a hand on the illusionist’s shoulder. “Time to work your magic.” Jean cracked his knuckles in response, smirking.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, not bothering with the fact that the man was lunging straight for him. When his eyes opened, they glowed bright gold. The man stopped, frozen in place. Eren waited for the signal.

Jean nodded and Eren opened the bottle of water at his hip and bent the water out, forming an icy dagger. He bent it straight for the man’s heart, piercing him clean through. Jean released his hold on the man’s mind and the man slumped to the ground.

"Let’s go,” Jean said. Eren quickly picked up Hanji and the two bolted for the exit. Not even two minutes later, Hanji was in the healing hands of Nifa and Erwin was pulling out onto the freeway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking forever with this, im kinda all out of fresh inspiration  
> if anyone wants to help me id love it  
> message me on my personal tumblr swimmingflamingo


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i may or may not have been on a roll after i wrote chap 10 the other day....
> 
> and i certainly may or may not be writing a current chap 13 for ya'll, who knew this would be so long? ;)

“Hey guys!” Hanji exclaimed, taking a ginger step into the kitchen. Erwin immediately stood and swept her up.

“Nope, you’re staying in bed,” he said.

Eren and Jean chuckled as the redhead was busy working her best ‘kicked-puppy’ pout on Erwin to no avail.

“I just wanted a bowl of cereal!” they heard her exclaim as Erwin dragged her up the stairs. Eren and Jean burst into laughter.

“Wow, what’s so funny?” Armin asked, entering the kitchen. He helped himself to some cereal.

“Hanji and Erwin,” Eren smiled. Armin chuckled as he sat down next to Jean and began munching on his cereal.

A new presence entered the kitchen, it was Levi, still sleepy and disoriented. His hair was messy, his shirt slipped off one shoulder and the long sleeves covered his hands.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Eren smiled. Levi shot a sleepy glare at Eren as he sat down next to the brunette. “Want some breakfast?”

“Maybe,” Levi said. “‘M still not awake…”

“Well, I can make you pancakes, or waffles, or scrambled eggs?” the brunette fighter offered.

“I’d have him make you cinnamon rolls, dude,” Jean said, waving his spoon at Levi. “They are to die for.”

“Eren’s cinnamon rolls are a gift from heaven,” Armin nodded. Levi blinked and looked up at Eren, who was blushing as he tried denying it.

“Nah, guys, my cinnamon rolls aren’t that good,” Eren said.

“Can I try them?” Levi asked. 

“Did I hear that Eren’s making his better-than-cinnabon cinnamon rolls?” Sasha had appeared at the entrance of the kitchen.

“Guess I’m making cinnamon rolls,” Eren shrugged. He stood up and took his cereal bowl to the sink and started pulling out flour and sugar.

“Yay!” Sasha squealed. She sat down in between Levi and Armin. “His cinnamon rolls are full of delicious goodness from the goddess of breakfasty heaven. He literally must be the son of the breakfast gods.” Eren was burning red as he busied himself measuring flour into a bowl.

“Really?” Levi raised a brow.

“Really,” Sasha nodded. “We make it a tradition back at Milestone that Eren makes his cinnamon rolls for ever significant holiday, like Christmas and Easter.”

“Remember those ones he made for Halloween?” Armin smiled. “They were so awesome, they had orange frosting with little black bat sprinkles.”

“And the ones he made for Thanksgiving!” Jean exclaimed. “They were so cute! They had little autumn colored M&M’s inside the rolls!”

“And for Easter he’ll make different colored frosting, you know, like when you dye the eggs, and we can choose which colors to put on our roll!” Sasha smiled. “The little ones love it.”

“Wow,” Levi smirked, watching as Eren tried desperately to hide his beet red cheeks.

“It’s just a hobby…” he muttered.

Jean, Armin, and Sasha laughed at Eren.

“He does this every time we gloat about his rolls,” Jean said, his smile growing wider. “It’s fun to watch him turn red as a tomato!”

“You guys are the bane of my existence,” Eren said.

“We love you too, Eren!” Armin laughed. Levi smiled.

Not even half an hour later, Levi was taking his first bite of Eren’s famously delicious cinnamon rolls. He moaned aloud as the cinnamon and frosting melted on his tongue. Eren blushed and hid his face in his hands.

“These are so good!” Levi exclaimed.

“I’m really glad you like them,” Eren smiled, despite his red face.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you Eren!” Sasha squealed, devouring her roll. “Man, Connie’s gonna be super jealous when I tell him you made your rolls! Ha!”

“Oh, I’m sure he will,” Eren laughed.

\--

“Can we talk?” Levi gently knocked on Hanji’s door.

“Of course, my darling Levi!” Hanji exclaimed.

“Please don’t call me that,” the raven pouted, closing the door behind him.

“Alright,” Hanji smiled, sitting up against the headboard. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to talk about Eren,” Levi said. “I’m kinda...uh, worried, maybe?”

“What makes you say that? Eren’s a great man, you know that,” the redhead scientist furrowed her brow.

“I know, but, when I watched him during the rescue mission,” Levi paused there and sat down on the edge of Hanji’s bed. “And I know this sounds hella weird coming from me, but he-”

Hanji placed a reassuring hand on her son’s shoulder.

“His killing?” Hanji offered. Levi nodded. “It might sound a little weird, but killing is what he does. He’s a fighter, and killing is in his DNA.”

“I know, but, it still kinda...I don’t even know how to feel about it,” Levi pursed his lips, mulling over it in his head.

“Why don’t you talk to him about it?” Hanji suggested. “He won’t know until you tell him.”

“But I still don’t know how I feel about it yet,” Levi said. Hanji shrugged.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking,” she said. “We’re in a new age, he doesn’t have to kill to stay alive the way you did so why bother. But, fate does weird things you know, like making Eren the killer in this life instead of you. Don’t let that distract you from the fact that he killed to protect himself and the people he cared about, including you.”

“Me? I wasn’t even there.”

“But I was, and we’re family,” Hanji said. “He knew that if he failed to rescue me, then it would break your heart.”

Levi’s eyes dropped down the the carpet, his brow furrowing even deeper as he slowly processed this new information.

“This is deep.”

Hanji laughed. “I’ve been known to be deep a time or two.” She lifted Levi’s chin with her fingers. “Go talk to him. Figure this out. Just make sure you use a condom.”

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, MOM,” Levi exclaimed. Hanji burst into laughter, wiping tears from her cheeks. Levi jumped off of the bed and marched to the door, slamming it behind him.

“Love you, too, sweetie!” Hanji called.

\--

“I knew it was here somewhere!” Mikasa smiled, pulling out the equipment she was looking for. “Hanji never throws anything away.” She held up a target and a bow. “Anybody up for some archery?”

“Sure, why not?” Eren shrugged, he helped Mikasa carry the targets. Armin found the box of practice arrows and Sasha set up the stands.

“Hey, what’s shakin’?” Jean asked, strolling into the yard.

“Archery, you in?” Sasha asked.

“OOh, I haven’t done archery since I passed the test our second middle year,” Jean smirked.

“I know, right?” Eren asked. “It’s a perfect opportunity to brush up.” He picked up a bow in his right hand.

“Wait-Eren, you’re left handed?” Mikasa asked.

“I’m ambidextrous,” Eren smirked. “Both.”

“Meaning he was left handed in this life, but in the previous life he was right handed,” Jean rolled his eyes. “So this fucker gets to be both.” Eren batted his eyelashes innocently and smiled.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Alright, guys, just get back to your targets,” Armin sighed, rubbing his temples. Eren pulled out an arrow and placed it on the string. His arrow hit the dead center of the target.

“Nice shot,” Jean slapped Eren on the shoulder. “My turn.”

Jean picked up his bow and pulled the string back. He let go an hit the center, a little off of Eren’s arrow.

“Dang it,” Jean hissed.

“Hey, you still hit the bullseye,” Eren said. “Your target would still be neutralized.”

“True,” Jean stepped out of the way for Armin.

The blonde’s arrow hit just barely inside the bullseye.

“Nice!” Jean exclaimed.

“Not bad for someone who barely passed in second middle,” Armin smirked.

“My turn!” Sasha squealed, picking up her bow. Her arrow hit directly in the middle of Eren’s, splitting it in half.

“The Huntress returns!” Eren exclaimed, dropping to his knees. Mikasa raised a brow.

“Praise the All Mighty Huntress!” Jean dropped to his knees and extended his hands.

“Bless me, O Powerful Huntress!” Armin exclaimed, falling to his knees as well.

“What are you idiots doing?” Levi asked.

“If you praise the Huntress, she’ll grant you her all mighty powers of the archery!” Eren exclaimed, extending his hands towards Sasha.

“You are all Blessed,” Sasha smiled, raising her hands over the three men at her feet.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Levi and Mikasa said, exchanging glances.

“In our middle years, we learned all types of combat, from weaponry to hand to hand,” Armin explained, standing up. “Sasha was the Queen of Archery. She passed the test her first try. Others like Eren passed their second or third time. It took me six tries to pass.”

“Took me four,” Jean said.

“I took it twice,” Eren said, crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t have had to take it twice if it wasn’t for Jean, who had just figured out what his powers were. He trapped me in an illusion that I was being chased by a fucking huge lion.”

“Sorry?” Jean shrugged.

“Hehe, remember when I sabotaged Reiner’s test, though?” Eren smacked Jean on the chest with the back of his hand.

“Oh man, that was classic,” Jean laughed. Armin and Sasha chuckled.

“Genius,” Armin smiled.

“What happened?” Mikasa asked.

“Reiner had been a huge douche to Eren that week, since it was back when Eren had just come out,” Jean said. “He was always teasing him and getting on his nerves.”

“So Eren bent the air around all of Reiner’s arrows so they never hit the target,” Sasha said. “It was really funny to watch the big guy get so confused.”

“Yeah, but when he figured out it was me I got a black eye,” Eren said.

“He had latrine duty for two months for punching you,” Armin said, laughing. “Good times.”

“Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun growing up together,” Mikasa smiled.

“Oh man, we could tell you stories,” Armin said. “It’s usually these two dorks, but I have a few good ones as well.”

“Oh god, Armin,” Eren plopped in the grass. “Tell them that one where you challenged Shadis and won!”

“You what?” Levi asked.

“So Shadis is our math and weapons teacher,” Armin said, plopping in the grass with the others. “He picked up a Mace and proceeded to tell it’s ‘history’.”

“Funny enough, Armin had read up on the Mace the week before and stood up in the middle of class to tell Shadis he was wrong,” Sasha giggled.

“You should have seen the look on his face,” Jean said.

“After that, Shadis said that since I must have known so much about the Mace that I should fight him with the Mace,” the blonde said. “So we fought and I won.”

“Oh come on, you left out all the gory details!” Eren exclaimed. “He literally slammed the mace into Shadis’ hip. It was broken for three months!” Levi’s jaw clenched.

“You broke Shadis’ hip?” Mikasa asked in disbelief.

“He did,” Sasha nodded. “It took Nifa forever to heal him since it was so shattered.”

“And you were only in middle school?” the raven haired woman asked. Armin nodded.

“I was only like, twelve, thirteen maybe?” Armin said, nose scrunching up in thought. “Shadis was probably three times my size.” He rolled up his sleeves, finding the summer air a little warmer than he was used to. Mikasa’s eyes dropped to the blonde’s shoulder, finding the mark.

“Wait-Armin,” Mikasa said. “Is that the mark Hanji gave you?” Armin looked down at his bicep.

“Oh yeah, it is,” he said. “Hurt like hell too.”

“Oh man, his scream was nowhere near as bloody as Eren’s,” Jean said. “Eren screamed so loud it woke up the whole Mansion.” Levi’s eyes widened.

“Mine is fucking ten times bigger than his,” Eren defended. “If Armin’s felt like hell, mine felt like I was getting burned and frozen by the devil himself. Then getting stabbed a million times while walking on hot coals.”

“It was really scary,” Sasha said. “Waking up to his scream.”

“Can we see?” Levi asked. Eren nodded and pulled off his shirt, turning around. There, the wings of freedom crossed his entire back, the tips curling around his biceps and the ends wrapping around his waist. “Whoa.”

“So how do you get rid of a mark?” Mikasa asked. Levi reached out and traced the part around Eren’s shoulder.

“If the mark is done by a human, you can’t ever get rid of it,” Sasha said. “If the mark was done by a Magician, then it is reversed whenever the task is carried out. In Hanji’s case, we marked her so she would be found. The mark faded as soon as Eren carried her out.” Levi’s brow furrowed.

“Oh,” Mikasa said. “So you guys are stuck with these marks forever?” Eren nodded and pulled his shirt back on.

“Well that ruins any chance of you getting a tattoo on your back,” Levi said. Eren chuckled.

“It’s alright,” Eren shrugged. “I’ve still got my arms, my chest, and most of my shoulders to fill up.”

“Plus it’s not all bad,” Armin said. “I mean, it led us to you guys.”

“That’s right,” Eren said, wrapping an arm around Levi’s waist. “I shall treasure it forever, no matter how much pain it put me through.”

That last comment made Levi wince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how about some closure regarding the markings?  
> also  
> how many of you would die to try Eren's cinnamon rolls? I know I would...


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my sweets! enjoy your new chapter
> 
> lol i seriously forgot wat it was about until i went back and reread it im so stupid omg

“Hey guys!” Hanji sprinted into the kitchen. “I’m finally up and at ‘em!” Nifa followed the energetic redhead into the kitchen and sat down next to Erwin at the table.

“Hey! Congrats!” Erwin chuckled. “Eren made pancakes if you want some.”

“Where are the young’ns?” Hanji helped herself to a stack of pancakes and took a seat next to Erwin.

“They decided to get an early start at the mall,” the blonde man said, looking up from his own stack of pancakes. “It’s their last full day together after all.”

“It’s not that early,” Nifa said. “It’s ten o’clock.”

“Well, it’s early in terms of teenager standards,” Erwin said.

“True,” the brunette nodded.

“We should all go out to a fancy place for dinner,” Hanji suggested. “Since it’s your last day and all, we should have a nice meal all together for once.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Erwin nodded. “We should have the kids buy nice outfits while they’re out.”

“I’ll call Mikasa,” Hanji said, pulling out her phone. “Hey baby, we’re gonna go out for dinner so make sure you guys are back by five to get ready, kay?”

“Okay, where are we going?” Mikasa asked.

“Somewhere fancy, so make sure the boys and Sasha get something nice to wear, okay?” Hanji asked.

“Okay.”

“Thanks, baby, see you later!”

“Bye, Mom.” Hanji clicked the red end button and shoved her phone in her pocket.

“Okay, all set,” the redhead smiled.

“Yeah, but now we need clothes,” Nifa said.

“Time to go shopping!” Hanji squealed.

\--

Levi’s fingers were tangled with Eren’s as they sat on the edge of the large stone fountain in the middle of the mall.

“I can’t believe it’s my last day here already,” Eren said. “I hardly got to spend time with you.”

“Yeah, we rarely got to talk,” Levi said, leaning his head on Eren’s shoulder.

“Wanna talk now?” Eren asked.

“I guess this is our only chance to, so yeah,” the raven said. “So I guess first of all, we’re boyfriends, right? I mean, just because we both remember our past relationship doesn’t necessarily mean we have a current one.”

“That’s a very good point,” the brunette said. “Would you like to be my boyfriend?”

“Of course,” Levi said without hesitation. “And second, I just want to tell you that when I first saw you kill I was really surprised. I mean, back in our old lives, yeah I used to kill people and I was fairly aggressive, but now, I don’t have to be. I can be the me I’ve always wanted to be which doesn’t involve killing people. And you can be you. And I understand that you’re a Fighter-type Magician, and that killing is in your blood and stuff, but I just want you to know it’s okay.”

Eren furrowed his brow.

“So, wait-you’re saying that you don’t like killing,” Eren clarified, “but you’re okay with me killing because it’s a part of who I am.”

“I mean, in this world, our personalities have changed to fit our new environments,” Levi said, looking up into Eren’s turquoise eyes, “And I’m okay with your personality if you’re okay with mine.”

“Oh,” Eren nodded. “Alright, I understand. I’ll accept you who are and you accept who I am? Alright.” He kissed the back of Levi’s hand. “Then I will if that means we can be together.” Levi smiled and leaned his head back on Eren’s shoulder.

“Good.”

\--

He paused, looking up into the horizon. The winds have changed. Something has changed. He closed his eyes, finding a pair of blazing emerald and turquoise eyes behind his lids. Instead of the usual fiery passion he’d come to know in those eyes, he found them full of love and joy. What had happened? When had it happened?

He wasn’t sure, but he would find out. The man he’d hired to find the equation had failed, the Magician’s had made sure of that. His disappointment had grown ten fold upon hearing his colleague’s death. He’d have to get that equation himself, even if it meant coming out of hiding.

He walked back inside his tent and instantly began packing his briefcase with his research. It was time to find the Magicians. It was time to put the passion back into those turquoise eyes.

\--

“Alright, is everybody packed?” Erwin asked, counting the teens and their suitcases.

“Yep!” Sasha said.

“Do you all have your passports?” Nifa asked.

“Yes, we do,” Armin smiled, holding up his passport with the others.

“Do you need to go to the bathroom before we leave for the airport?” Erwin asked.

“Oh my god, Erwin, seriously,” Jean groaned.

“I think we’re all good, Commander,” Eren nodded. He turned to Levi and reached for the raven’s hand.

“Alright then, let’s pack up the cars and get going,” he nodded. Jean and Eren loaded up the cars and Levi and Mikasa pulled out of the driveway.

“Bye guys!” Hanji screamed from the driveway. “Have a safe flight!”

The drive to the airport was quiet. Eren reached over and placed a reassuring hand on Levi’s knee.

The twins followed the Magicians through the check in. And it had finally come to the dreaded security where they’d have to say goodbye. Levi gave hugs and handshakes with a brave face. Then he found a pair of turquoise eyes and strong arms and buried himself in them.

“Don’t miss me too much,” Eren smiled, running a hand through Levi’s hair.

“I already do,” Levi admitted.

“Eren,” Jean said. “It’s time to go.”

“I love you,” Eren whispered into Levi’s ear. He pressed his lips to Levi’s forehead and pulled away.

“I love you too,” Levi whispered, but Eren had already gone.

Mikasa’s arm draped around his shoulder.

“I’ll buy you a donut and coffee,” she offered.

“Yes please,” Levi sniffed, rubbing his eyes on his sleeve.

\--

“Home at last!” Sasha exclaimed.

“Sasha!” Connie exclaimed, barreling out of nowhere and tackling her to the ground. “I missed you a ton! Tell me everything!”

“Well…” Sasha’s smirk said everything. The two sat up.

“No way.”

“Way!”

“That’s totally not fair! How come you got Eren’s cinnamon rolls?!” Connie exclaimed. Eren blushed beet red and brushed past them.

“Jesus, guys, stop talking about my rolls like they’re some government scandal,” he muttered, dragging his suitcase up the stairs. Sasha and Connie burst into laughter.

“What else happened?” Connie asked.

“We did a ton of shopping and we went to a lot of popular American restaurants,” the redhead smiled. “Oh! And I bought you a few souvenirs.”

“You did?” the male seeker asked.

“Yep!” Sasha began opening her suitcase in the middle of the foyer to pull out the gifts she’d bought for Connie.

Jean and Armin exchanged glances and chuckled, moving past the two seekers and up the stairs to their rooms to unpack.

“Well that was quite the trip,”Jean said.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Armin said. “I’m glad we’re back though. It was weird sleeping without a cloaking device.”

“Oh yeah,” Jean scratched the back of his neck.

“Hey guys!” Marco rounded the corner.

“Hey Marco!” Jean exclaimed, pulling the freckled teen into a hug.

“Hey Marco,” Armin smiled, giving the taller teen a hug as well.

“Welcome back,” Marco smiled. “You have to tell me all about America, how is it?”

“It’s very different than England is, that’s for sure,” Jean said.

“There’s a whole lot more fast food,” Armin said. Marco giggled, making Jean smile.

“Hey Marco!” Eren jumped on Marco’s back, wrapping his arms around Marco’s neck and his legs around his waist. Marco’s arms came around back to hold Eren to make sure he didn’t fall.

“Hey Eren!”

Eren smirked at Jean and winked. Jean blushed and crossed his arms.

“How did you like your trip?”

“Well I certainly got more action than Jean did,” Eren said. Armin burst into laughter along with Eren. Jean sputtered.

“Oh my god, Eren, that’s because-” he stopped when he realized what Eren had actually meant. “Ok you know what? I’m done, I’m just done.” He held up his hands and walked into the room to unpack.

“HAha, nice one, Eren,” Armin and the brunette bumped fists.

“I’m so confused,” Marco stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> goodbyes are hardest when the people you love are in another country, same with me and my fam... :(  
> anyways, they'll see each other again soon
> 
> and WATS THIS???? JEANMARCO HINTING?????  
> should i make it a thing yes or no ppl, i need feedback


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //rises from the dead to throw a terrible chapter at u  
> forgive me children

“We still need a plan to get rid of the titans once and for all,” Erwin said.

“Yeah, and figure out who’s behind this,” Rico nodded.

“I’ve got the anti-titan serum almost ready,” Hanji’s voice came through the video chat call. “I just need a few more days to perfect it. Then I’ll be en route.”

“Perfect,” Erwin said. “Keep us posted. And if you have any other ideas, let us know.”

“Copy that!” Hanji mock saluted and ended the call, returning to her work.

“So now what do we do?” Nifa asked.

“We continue training the kids,” Erwin said. “We’ll have the older kids help with the titan problem when it arises, but for now we continue like usual.” He stood up and walked over to the wall length window. Outside he saw the fighter kids, training under Shadis’ watchful eyes.

Eren was fighting against Annie. The blonde was teleporting just in time to miss Eren’s strikes, but then he rippled the ground, tripping Annie in the middle of her teleport, making her stumble to the ground where Eren then launched into hand to hand combat. Erwin smiled. Eren was one of their strongest fighters.

He shifted his glance to Jean, who was currently doing mind tricks on Reiner, making himself appear in twenty places at once. Poor Reiner was trying to find the real Jean to no avail. Erwin chuckled.

Nifa appeared at his elbow, peering out the window to see what was so funny.

“Oh my god,” she said. “Erwin just have them graduate already, they’ve already had their final tests, why even bother having them practice?”

“Its part of the curriculum, no matter if they’ve taken the test or not,” Rico said, standing up.

Suddenly, they heard a loud scream. Erwin opened the window and peered outside, finding Eren doubled over in pain.

“What’s going on?” Shadis demanded.

“I didn’t do anything, sir,” Annie said, stepping back.

Eren ripped off his shirt, finding a brand new mark on his chest above his heart. Erwin, Nifa, and Rico dashed outside.

“Ugh, why does this keep happening to me?” Eren panted in pain. Nifa placed her palm on Eren’s chest, leaving enough room for Rico to do the same.

“It’s someone different this time,” Rico shuddered. “It’s the man who’s been creating titans.”

“Who?” Jean asked.

“Eren’s father,” Rico withdrew her hand. “Grisha Jaeger.”

\--

Eren looked down at his mark, it was a rose, but bright vibrant turquoise in color, matching the exact shade of his eyes. He touched it, wincing at the pain, considering it was a fresh mark.

“By the amount of pain Eren experienced, I’d say Grisha isn’t a Magician,” Armin said.

“But then how’d Eren get his powers?” Marco asked. “It usually takes two Magician’s for the genes to carry, not one.”

“Unless Grisha lost his magic,” Sasha said. “It’s been done before, remember the legend of that one old guy who threw his donkey off a cliff?”

“Oh yeah,” Connie nodded. “Grisha could have lost his magic and used science the way Hanji did to create a mark on Eren.”

Eren leaned back in his bean bag and pulled out his newly acquired phone and messaged Levi.

-I got marked again.

It didn’t take long for Levi to respond.

\--By who? What does it look like?

Eren took a quick pic and sent it to Levi.

-My father, Grisha Jaeger. Apparently he’s the one who’s been making the titans this whole time.

\--Oh god, I’ll tell Hanji right away.

\--Does it hurt?

-A little. It hurt a ton earlier, which means he doesn’t have magic.

“Eren?” Jean’s hand felt cool against Eren’s skin. “You okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” He put his phone back in his pocket and stood up. “I’m gonna go grab a shirt.”

He walked out and down the hall to his shared room. He pulled out a plain blue shirt and pulled it on over his head. His phone began ringing. It was Levi.

“Hey,” Eren said.

“Eren are you okay?” Levi asked.

“I’m fine,” the brunette sighed.

“Are you inside? Is the cloaking system on?”

“Yes,” Eren chuckled. “I’m safe, you don’t have to worry about me just yet.”

“But if your father marked you that means he wants to find you,” Levi said. “And if he’s been making the titans this whole time you need to watch out okay?”

“I will, don’t worry,” Eren smiled. “I can handle myself. And if Grisha doesn’t have magic then it just makes my job ten times easier.” Levi huffed. “I promise I’ll try not to kill him, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried about you killing him, I’m worried about you,” Levi answered. “Kill him if you have to, but please don’t get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Lee, I’ve got Jean and the other fighters to back me up,” Eren said. “I’m not alone.”

“Ok,” Levi took a deep breath. “But I want you to call me everyday.”

“Alright, I will,” Eren said.

“I love you.”

Eren paused, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest.

“I love you, too, Levi.” He hung up and slid the phone back in his pocket.

“Talkin’ to the B.F?” Jean asked. Eren jumped.

“Jean! Don’t scare me like that!” the brunette exclaimed. The illusionist chuckled. “And yes, I was talking to my boyfriend, he was very concerned about me, thank you very much.” Eren crossed his arms, taking a defensive stance.

“Alright, alright,” Jean held his hands up. “No need to be touchy, I was just gonna ask you if you wanted to play Mario Kart, Jesus.”

“Oh, sure,” Eren dropped his arms. “Who else is playing?”

“Armin, Reiner, Connie, and Marco,” Jean replied. “I think Sasha’s ordering pizza, since it’s Friday and all.”

“Awesome,” Eren smiled.

\--

“Hanji,” Levi walked into the lab, finding his adoptive mother working away. “Eren got marked again.”

“What?” She looked up from her work. “Who?”

“Eren got marked by his father, Grisha Jaeger,” Levi said. “He’s the one who’s been making the titans.”

“Well, son of a gun!” Hanji exclaimed, brushing her bangs back.

“What?” Levi asked.

“Grisha is the one who taught me all about magic,” Hanji chuckled. “He used to be the best strategist out there until he got stripped of his powers. He taught a science lab at the grad school I attended. Huh, who would’ve thunk?”

Levi glared at her.

“And you didn’t think this information might have been helpful to the Magicians?” he raised a brow.

“Honestly I had forgotten all about Grisha until now,” the redhead shrugged.

“You spent a whole month with Eren! How could you have forgotten Grisha?!”

“It happens?” Hanji smiled. Levi let out an exasperated sigh and marched out of the science lab. “Thanks for letting me know, sweetie!” she called after him.

\--

He smirked. The marking had successfully worked. He knew exactly what to do next. He packed up his equipment and saddled up his horse. A huge thud shook leaves out of the nearby trees. Grisha looked up, finding a titan standing over him.

“Time to go find my son,” he said.

The titan roared, scaring birds who flew away from the trees. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of titans had appeared. Grisha nodded and urged his horse into a canter.

\--

Eren jolted awake and scrambled from the sheets.

“He’s coming!” he exclaimed.

“What?” Jean asked sleepily.

“Who’s coming, Eren?” Armin asked. Eren didn’t reply but bolted out the door.

“Commander!” Eren burst into Erwin’s room. “He’s coming. Grisha Jaeger is on his way here-now!” Erwin sprang from his bed and threw on his bathrobe.

“I need Hanji on the next possible flight out of America, now!” Erwin said. “Mike!” He called, waking up the blonde in the room next to his. “We need a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //falls back into death  
> goodbye my children  
> jkjk, i hope i can be motivated enough to actually go somewhere with this, right now the rest is in jumbles in my head...


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry for the inactivity...lots of life happened  
> anyways, enjoy!

“HAHA!” Hanji grinned widely.

“You look like a goon,” Levi crossed his arms.

“Call me a goon, but I just finished the anti-titan serum!” Hanji held up a tiny test tube of semi-glowing purple liquid.

“Finally!” Mikasa exclaimed. “That means we can go now, right?”

“Right!” Hanji nodded. She put a cap on the test tube and wildly began collecting things from her desk. “Go get packed, kids!”

Levi and Mikasa hurried out of the lab to pack their suitcases. Hanji opened up Skype on her computer and quickly called Milestone.

“Hanji! Oh thank god! I was just about to call you!” Erwin’s voice filtered through the speakers.

“What’s going on?” Hanji asked, carefully packing the test tube in a padded case.

“Grisha’s on the move,” he said. “Eren just woke from a vision.”

“He can get those?” the redheaded scientist asked.

“Hanji!”

“Right!” she blinked away from the thought. “I just finished the serum so I’ll be on the way soon!”

“Don’t leave America until Eren gets there,” Erwin said. “We sent him on the first flight out, he should be arriving there shortly. I’ll send you the details.”

“Yes, sir,” Hanji nodded. That was perfect. It would give them just enough time to pack and purchase tickets. She immediately went online and found four tickets for England. “I’ll go ahead and buy four, so Eren could sit with us.”

“Yes, good plan,” Erwin nodded. “I’ll wire you the money for Eren’s ticket after you get here.” He sighed.

“Alright then, talk to you when we get there,” Hanji said. Erwin nodded and the call ended. Hanji quickly went about cleaning up her lab, making sure no information was in sight and everything was in her case or in her filing cabinet.

“Hanji, I put your suitcase in your room,” Levi’s voice came from the staircase. Hanji took a deep breath, looked over her lab once again and shut down her computer.

“Thanks, sweetie,” Hanji said. She picked up her case and followed her son out of the lab. “Eren’s flying out here, so we’ll leave tonight when he gets here.” Levi nodded, smiling a bit at the thought of seeing Eren again so soon.

\--

Eren stepped off the plane and walked towards the pick up terminal. The plan was to fly to America, pick up Hanji and the twins, and fly back.

“Eren! Over here!”

He looked over to where the voice had come from to see Hanji, Levi, and Mikasa with suitcases of their own. He smiled and made his way over to them.

“Hey!” He smiled, giving Levi a hug. “Long time no see!” Eren winked at Hanji. The redhead burst into laughter. Eren smiled and placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead.

“HA! Good one, Eren!” She exclaimed. Mikasa rolled her eyes and pulled out a ticket.

“Here’s your ticket for the way back,” she said. “We leave in a few hours so you can rest a bit.” Eren took the ticket and tucked it into his passport.

“Thanks!” He laced his fingers with Levi’s.

“Can we go find some food?” Levi huffed. “I’m hungry.”

“Of course,” Hanji nodded. “Let’s get checked in and through customs first.”

They had found hamburgers at a grill on the other side of the security check. Hanji kept her brief case close to her at all times.

“So is serum in that case?” Eren asked, gesturing to Hanji’s lap where it currently resided.

“Yeah!” Hanji nodded. “You know what’s crazy? It turned out purple this time!”

“That’s strange, wasn’t it a yellow last time?” Eren furrowed his brow.

“My guess is that the chemicals used have slightly been altered or changed as time went on,” she shrugged, adjusting her glasses. “If it doesn’t work then I have no idea what we’re gonna do.”

Levi squeezed Eren’s hand reassuringly.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” he said. Mikasa nodded.

“Plus you have Armin,” Mikasa added.

“Very true,” Eren nodded. “We’ll be fine.”

“Unless…” Hanji muttered.

“What?” Levi raised a brow

“Nevermind, it’s scientifically impossible,” Hanji waved her hand and continued eating her food. Eren, Mikasa, and Levi exchanged glances. Eren pulled out his phone and messaged Armin.

-Is it possible for the serum to not work?

Armin replied almost instantly.

\--It could but I don’t see why it shouldn’t. It worked in the past didn’t it?

-Yes, but Hanji says it’s a different color this time.

\--Which color?

-Purple.

\--Oh.

-Is that a bad thing?

\--Let me look into it.

Eren sighed, feeling a bit uneasy. He placed his palm on Levi’s knee to calm himself. He almost wished they could hurry up and get on the airplane already, but their flight wasn’t for another hour.

“You okay?” Levi asked.

“Just feeling a bit uneasy,” Eren said. “I should be fine once we start boarding.”

“That’s in an hour.”

“I know,” the brunette said. “I just feel like something’s not right.”

\--

Armin typed away on the computer in the teen loft.

“I don’t understand, everything should be fine,” he muttered. “But why is it purple?”

“Why’s what purple?”

Armin jumped, turning to the sound of the voice.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sasha smiled. She took a seat next to Armin at the computer.

“It’s okay,” Armin said. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be up this late.”

“I got hungry,” Sasha shrugged, pulling a slice of bread from her pocket. “So, what are you doing?”

“Eren messaged me saying that the serum is purple,” Armin ran a hand through his short blonde hair. It was getting kind of long, but he had more important things to worry about.

“What was it in the past?”

“Yellow-ish,” the strategist said. “My first guess is that the chemicals have changed a bit over time, but now I’m starting to wonder if there’s something more to it.”

“Did you have to use Eren’s DNA for the equation?” the redhead asked, mouth full of bread.

“What? Why-WAIT!” Armin picked up his phone and called Eren.

“Armin?” Eren asked.

“Eren, ask Hanji if she had to use your DNA for the serum!”

“Um, ok? I’m gonna put you on speaker, by the way. Hey, Hanji! Did you have to use my DNA for the serum?” Armin could hear Hanji’s response in the background.

“I don’t think I did,” she said. “Was I supposed to?”

“Wait-” Levi’s voice cut in. “It didn’t work the first time we used it. We created the serum and figured it worked, so we tested it. When it didn’t, we used Eren’s DNA and created a-”

“I remember now!” Hanji exclaimed. “Eren! Tell Armin he’s a genius!”

“Uh…”

“Don’t worry, Eren,” Armin smiled. “I heard. So what do we have to do now?”

“Well, since I just mixed up the base of the serum without the two acting ingredients, cuz, you know, it’d explode in high altitudes and that’s not good for flying, I can finish the final steps at Milestone,” Hanji said, “assuming, that is, that you have all the chemical ingredients I’ll need there.”

“We do,” Armin said.

“But if I’m no longer a titan, how is it going to work?” Eren asked.

“More or less, you share DNA with Grisha, and since he’s been creating the titans, it should work,” the blonde nodded.

“That is exactly correct,” Hanji said. “Good thinking, Armin!”

Armin smiled and hung up the phone. He looked over at Sasha, who’d managed to stuff an entire loaf of bread into her mouth. He chuckled and rolled his eyes. Hopefully this would work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY my sons are finally together again! <3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey welcome to another chap of the story!  
> its been a while since i last posted whoops!

Eren restlessly bounced his leg. There were only two more hours until the plane landed and he couldn’t help but feel uneasy the whole time. He looked down at Levi, whose head was resting against his shoulder as he slept, looking peaceful and calm.

Outside the window, clouds raced by and the sun tried to keep up, spilling bright orange into the blue and pink sky. It was beautiful, Eren wished Levi could watch it with him but he didn’t want to wake him up.

“You alright, Eren?” Hanji whispered over the sleeping man between them.

“I’m a little restless, but I’ll be fine once we get back,” he answered honestly. “I just can’t shake the feeling that somethings gonna happen.”

“I get you,” the scientist nodded, hugging her briefcase to her chest. “I keep expecting someone to take this away any moment now.” Eren sighed.

“We have just a few more hours,” he said. “Have you thought of how we’d be administering the serum? We don’t have the 3DM gear like last time.”

“I was thinking of tying a small syringe to an arrow,” Hanji explained, “and then you guys shoot them at the titans’ napes. Although I haven’t yet thought of how we’d reach the taller class titans.”

“We might be able to shoot from the top of the roof,” Eren said. “But if there are any titans taller than that, Shadis’ power is flight.” Hanji smiled.

“That’s brilliant!” she squealed, forgetting to whisper.

“Jesus, Mom,” Levi groaned. “I was trying to sleep!” He nuzzled his nose into Eren’s shoulder while glaring daggers at his mother.

“Oh, sorry, dear,” Hanji ruffled her son’s hair, before checking on Mikasa on her other side. The woman’s face was plastered against the window, completely asleep. The redhead brushed some long strands out of her daughter’s face and tucked them behind her ear.

“What were you two talking about?” Levi asked, pulling the airplane blanket up to his chin.

“Titans,” Hanji smiled. Levi huffed.

“When are you two not talking about titans?” he asked. Eren chuckled.

“You have a good point there,” he said. He wrapped his arm around Levi, bringing the raven’s head to his chest. Levi laced his fingers with Eren’s and fell back asleep. Eren smiled and kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head.

By the time the plane had landed, Eren, who hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, had gotten even more restless. He helped Hanji and the twins find their suitcases and load them in the back of the Milestone truck.

“Are you going to be okay to drive?” Levi asked, as Eren climbed into the driver’s seat and started the ignition.

“I’m fine,” Eren sighed. “I’ll honestly be better when we’re inside Milestone.”

“Okay,” Levi tangled his fingers with Eren’s as the brunette maneuvered the truck out of the parking lot and onto the freeway.

The drive was long and silent, the four letting the radio drown the silence as they watched the sunset from the window. It was safe to say they all breathed a sigh of relief as Eren pulled into the garage of the mansion.

Erwin was there to greet them.

“Welcome back Hanji,” he smiled, giving a sideways hug to the redheaded woman. “And welcome, Mikasa and Levi. We’ll give you a proper tour in the morning.”

Eren unloaded the luggage from the trunk and Erwin helped carry it inside.

“The twins will be sleeping in Hanji’s room until we introduce them to the others,” Erwin said, leading the way to the guest room where three beds had been set up. “You remember what time breakfast is?”

“Yes,” Hanji nodded.

“Alright,” Erwin took a deep breath, patting Eren’s back. “Looks like Eren’s going to fall asleep in his shoes.”

“Yeah…” Eren blinked.

“Go sleep,” Levi said. He took Eren’s head in his hands and gave him a kiss.

“Yessir,” the brunette slurred.

As soon as Eren’s head hit his pillow he fell into a comfortable sleep.

\--

“Here you go,” Sasha handed Levi and Mikasa their smoothies.

“Thanks,” Mikasa smiled.

“Thank you,” Levi said. He took a sip of the strawberry banana smoothie and let out a tiny moan a how delicious it was. “This is really good!”

“Thanks!” Sasha exclaimed.

“So you said it was done?” Erwin asked, walking in the kitchen with Hanji on his heels.

“Almost,” Hanji adjusted her glasses, “all I need is Eren’s DNA to complete it.”

Erwin nodded and noticed the twins sipping smoothies with Sasha.

“Good Morning, Commander!” Sasha exclaimed. “I’m making smoothies! Want one?”

“Sure!” Erwin smiled.

“Levi!” Armin exclaimed. “Welcome to Milestone!” the blonde walked into the kitchen and immediately gave hugs to the twins.

“Hey Armin!” Mikasa exclaimed.

“Good Morning,” Levi smiled.

“Have you had the tour yet?”

The twins shook their heads.

“We’ll give them a tour once everyone is up, Armin,” Erwin said, accepting his smoothie from Sasha.

“Hmm…” Armin hummed, “that might be awhile. The fighters are out cold.”

“All of them?”

“Oh yeah,” Armin nodded. “You should see them, it’s quite the sight. Jean, Eren, and Reiner are all on top of each other and Bertholt’s completely upside down, falling off the bed!”

“What?” Levi asked.

“Do you want to see?” Armin giggled. Levi nodded. Armin took Levi’s hand and led him to the boys’ room.

Levi peered into the large room. There were seven beds lined up, each with a closet on the wall opposite of the head of the bed. On the bed farthest away from the door, Eren laid sandwiched in between Reiner and Jean with Bertholt draped across them. Armin explained that they all shared a room only recently to reserve space.

“Oh my god,” Levi hid his smile behind his hand.

“You should take a picture,” Armin suggested.

“I should,” the raven took out his phone and quickly took a picture. Then he studied the group of teenage guys. “They look..almost peaceful?” Armin giggled.

“Mmf…” a sound came from the pile of fighters. “Eren, your boyfriend is so loud.” Levi’s eyes widened as he exchanged glances with Armin before bursting into laughter.

“What?” Eren asked, sitting up. He blearily looked around and blinked at Levi, watching him laugh.

“Come back, it’s cold!” an arm dragged Eren back down into the pile.

“Wait, no!” Eren protested. “Levi’s here!”

Levi chuckled at the boys.

“Why are they all like that anyways?” Levi asked.

“Eren’s like a fucking furnace!” Jean exclaimed. “He’s so warm!” Eren’s cheeks blushed bright red, eyes wide as saucers.

“We do this every night, what are you talking about?” Reiner scoffed.

“Every night?” Levi raised a brow.

“It usually starts with me and Jean,” Armin nodded. “Then Marco and Connie-”

“Speaking of Marco and Connie-where are those turds anyways?” Jean asked.

“They’re in the loft studying,” Armin said. “You should commend them on being so studious.”

“What’s for breakfast?” Reiner asked.

“Sasha’s making smoothies.”

And just like that, the pile of boys were gone, scrambling out the door pushing each other out of the way.

“I’m getting strawberry mango!”

“Oooh! I’m gonna get mango banana!”

“Damn that sounds good!”

Levi and Armin exchanged glances before laughing again and walking after the boys. When they finally made it back to the kitchen, each fighter had their own smoothie and were promptly sipping on them through straws.

“How come they get straws?” Mikasa was asking.

“Because if they don’t get straws, they’ll drink the whole thing in two gulps,” Sasha replied. “In order to make it last longer, they get straws.” Levi chuckled and grabbed up his unfinished smoothie and walked over to Eren.

“Hey, Lee,” Eren smiled, pulling Levi into his lap.

“What kind of smoothie did you get?” Levi asked.

“Mango and strawberry...I think,” the brunette replied. He let Levi have a sip.

“You guys are so cute!” Sasha exclaimed.

“What are you talking about?” Jean raised a brow. “They’re so gross!”

“Oh, Jean,” Eren shook his head. “I bet, deep down in your own disgustingly gay heart, you want to do this exact same thing.”

Jean grumbled and took a sip of his smoothie.

“Well, he didn’t deny it,” Reiner chuckled. The teens quietly sipped on their smoothies as they overheard Erwin talking with Hanji and Mike.

“Sending Eren to pick us up was a brilliant idea,” Hanji was saying. “It probably bought us a few days time.” Armin nodded.

“So how long will it take you to finish the serum?” Mike asked.

“Not long, after I get a sample of Eren’s DNA, I’ll mix the compounds in with the base,” Hanji said.

Eren sighed and leaned his head on Levi’s shoulder, hugging the smaller man close. Levi ran his hands through Eren’s short brown hair and downed the rest of his smoothie.

“Eren and I were talking about how to administer it into the titans, considering we don’t have our 3DM gear, like last time,” Hanji continued. “We’ll attach the serum onto arrows and have archers shoot it into the titan's nape. Any titans over 15 meters, we’ll have to let Shadis take care of, since he can fly.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Erwin nodded. “We’ll have our fighters brush up on their archery skills.” Armin cleared his throat and looked over at Erwin. “...And everyone else too.” The blonde strategist smiled and went back to sipping his smoothie.

Levi chuckled and rolled his eyes. Armin always got what he wanted. The raven rested his head on Eren’s and looped an arm around Eren’s neck, fingers gently brushing the brunette’s cheek.

“Hey Eren,” Levi said.

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m ready for that tour now.”

Eren laughed and exchanged glances with Erwin, who nodded and stood, collecting the empty cups to throw away.

“Well then,” Eren said. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

\--

After the tour, targets had been set up in the backyard and the bows taken out and re-strung. Each of the teenagers had strapped on quivers and filled them with arrows. Eren, however, was sent to the Chem lab with Hanji to finish the serum.

After Eren had done his part, Hanji had bandaged him up and sent him out to practice with the others. He grabbed a bow and quiver and stepped up behind Levi.

“Lift your elbow a little bit higher, babe,” Eren said, gently touching Levi’s elbow. Levi jumped with a start, but instantly recognized Eren and let him correct his form.

“I’ve never been all that great at archery,” Levi admitted. “Swords and knives were more my domain.” Eren chuckled.

“Just relax,” the brunette said. “Lift your elbow a bit and...let go!” Levi let the string go with a snap and the arrow hit the target just outside the middle ring.

“Well, at least I hit the target,” the raven sighed. Eren nodded, patting the smaller man on the shoulder. “Now you try!”

“Alright,” Eren strung his bow and placed an arrow on the string. He pulled back, aimed, and let go, his arrow hitting the dead center of the target.

“It amazes me every time you do that,” Levi raised a brow, impressed. Eren smiled bashfully and pressed a kiss to Levi’s forehead. He looked up and around to the others. Sasha and Jean were busy helping the others correct their forms to hit the targets.

“I should probably go help the others as well,” Eren said. Levi nodded and pulled out another arrow.

“I’ll be here,” Levi sighed. “I guess.”

Eren laughed and placed a kiss on Levi’s cheek before walking over to Historia and Ymir to help correct their forms.

Levi watched Eren work and chat with his friends, laughing at something Ymir had said and slapping her on the shoulder. The raven sighed and placed the arrow on the string and pulled back.

The arrow hit the dead center of the target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my children  
> i have many excuses but none will do, so forgive me out of the kindness of ur hearts  
> talk to me babes ily

**Author's Note:**

> wheezes in the corner...  
> was it good? Should I continue?  
> pls scream at me, comments and messages on tumblr appreciated.  
> tumblr: foossoaffoof


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